Emergency Medicine (Acute Care)

Injuries and accidents are the third leading cause of death for men. Fortunately, most injuries and accidents are not life-threatening, but they still require expert and fast treatment. Lake Forest Hospital’s Emergency Department provides emergency care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our Emergency Department is designated as a Level II Trauma Center, so we’re equipped to stabilize individuals who have undergone major trauma, as well as people suffering a heart attack, stroke or other health emergency. If needed, trauma patients can be transferred to a Level I Trauma Center for more complicated needs.

For parents and grandparents, it’s reassuring to know that Lake Forest Hospital’s emergency department is certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health as a pediatric emergency center. This certification means we are equipped to provide superior emergency care to children in the form of preventative, acute and rehabilitative care.

Staffed by board-certified emergency physicians and nurses who are specially trained in advanced life support, the emergency room features state-of-the-art equipment, private patient rooms, triage stations and a children’s playroom.

Depending on the severity of your illness or injury, and the bed availability within the emergency department, you will be asked to wait or be immediately taken to an exam room. To assure that patients with life-threatening conditions receive immediate medical attention, patients are seen in order of the severity of their condition, rather than in the order of arrival. To reach the emergency room, please call (847) 535-6150.

Acute Care Center (Grayslake)

Staffed by the same board-certified emergency physicians, advanced life support technicians and nurses who provide skilled care at Lake Forest Hospital’s Emergency Room, our Grayslake Outpatient and Acute Care Center is equipped to provide a wide variety of health services for non-life-threatening situations that need prompt medical attention. Our facility, which is equipped with advanced diagnostic technologies, is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. To reach the Acute Care Center, please call (847) 535-8950.

Seek treatment from an acute care facility if you have a:

• Broken bone
• Severe sprain
• Minor burn
• Cut requiring stitches
• Foreign matter in eyes or ears
• High fever
• Skin rash
• Possible infection requiring lab tests

You should seek treatment from an Emergency Department in the following situations:
(Call 9-1-1 for emergencies)

• Poisoning
• Abdominal pain with fever
• Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure
• Severe burns
• Excessive bleeding
• Dehydration
• Fainting or loss of consciousness
• Stroke
• Severe head wound
• Major trauma
• Amputation
• Difficulty breathing or bluish look around the mouth
• Sudden dizziness or weakness
• Seizures
• Possible suicide or mental disorder
• Foreign object swallowed or otherwise lodged in the body
• Severe and/or persistent vomiting
• Head injury from fall or blow to the head

Call 9-1-1 if you:

• Have a life-threatening injury/illness
• Experience head, neck or back trauma or other major trauma
• Fear you or the person you’re with may need medical attention before you can get to the hospital, or you have doubts about your ability to drive safely to the emergency department because you’re nervous
• Have physical limitations preventing you from getting you or another person to the hospital