Do you know your local Emergency Department?

Not all emergency caregivers are the same, so choose wisely.

The quality of care in your local emergency department (ED) can make all the difference when you or a family member has a sudden illness or serious injury. But not all EDs are the same. Staff expertise and wait times can vary, and not all hospitals have dedicated, permanently employed physicians and nurses to ensure quality care and continuity with your personal physician.

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s Emergency Department and Northwestern Grayslake’s Emergency Center are preferred by a majority of Lake County residents—in fact, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital has ranked higher than all Lake County hospital emergency departments for seven consecutive years, according to a survey of Lake County residents conducted by the National Research Corporation. But what exactly makes for an excellent emergency department?

 

Follow-up and Feedback

When he finds a few extra minutes, Jack Franaszek, MD, medical director of the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Emergency Department and Northwestern Grayslake Emergency Center, likes to walk around the emergency units, ducking his head into patient rooms or maybe talking with a nervous parent.

“I walk through the department on a daily basis, gathering feedback that helps us understand what we’re doing right and where we can improve,” he says. “We aim for an atmosphere of excellence and caring, and we need to talk to people to make sure that happens for every patient.”

Meanwhile, Michael Peters, MD, chairman of emergency medicine, is setting aside an hour to make follow-up calls to the emergency patients he recently treated. The follow-ups are part of a new program based on research showing that this practice improves care outcomes.

“People are pretty surprised to hear from me,” says Dr. Peters. “They expect just brief patient-doctor encounters in the emergency department, but I hand out my business card and want them to know I’m available. That means a lot to a parent going home with a croupy baby, or any of our patients—they can call if they have a question or more problems.”

 

Board-certified Staff, Low Turnover

Perhaps the most important consideration when choosing an emergency provider is the training and experience of emergency staff members. At Northwestern Lake Forest, the entire staff of physicians is board-certified in emergency medicine and nurses have special certification in emergency care. Some of the physicians have multiple board certifications, and most have been with the hospital for more than 15 years—steadiness and experience that can make a difference in urgent, often complex emergency cases.

Dr. Peters trained at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is board certified in emergency medicine and certified in travel medicine as well. He also worked at Cook County Hospital’s renowned trauma center (now John G. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County) before joining the hospital’s emergency team, a position he has had for 13 years.

“Our staff has trained at the top institutions, and they’re a very stable group of long-time employees,” he says. “That kind of continuity is great for patients, especially those with chronic conditions who visit the ED frequently. We get to know them, their family and their physicians.”

But the quantity of staff members can be just as important as the quality.

“When choosing an ED, consider how long it takes for you to have contact with a nurse or doctor,” says Dr. Franaszek, who has practiced emergency medicine for 35 years. “We’ve always had a good staff-to-patient ratio at both Northwestern Lake Forest and Northwestern Grayslake, and that’s one reason our wait times are often lower than the national average.”

At Northwestern Lake Forest, the average wait time to be in contact with an emergency professional is only 10 minutes—the national waiting time is 55 minutes*.

 

Community Ties: The Doctor Next Door

Dr. Peters does not just treat the residents of Lake County—he is an active member of the community. He lives in his native Lake Bluff, where he served as a volunteer firefighter and engineer for seven years. He knows that the people he sees around town may turn up in the Northwestern Lake Forest or Grayslake Emergency Departments at some point.

“We want to provide the very best care because these are our neighbors and friends,” says Dr. Peters. “Many of us in the ED are involved with local schools and charities. We’re truly invested in the local communities and we feel a strong responsibility toward the hospital and its patients.”

 

Specialized Pediatric Expertise and Resources

The Northwestern Lake Forest and Northwestern Grayslake emergency departments see a high volume of pediatric patients—about 30 percent. These cases, along with an array of other emergency cases, translate into a depth and breadth of experience for treating children in emergencies.

“The more you work with a particular type of person or case, the better you perform your role,” says Dr. Peters. “Our emergency physicians have strong capabilities in pediatric emergency medicine. We also have pediatric certification awarded by Emergency Medical Services for Children in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health. And, all of our nurses are certified in pediatric advanced life support.”

Both Dr. Franaszek and Dr. Peters believe this pediatric expertise should be a comfort to parents. But parents should also know that this experience is complemented by the 24/7 presence of Children’s Memorial Hospital pediatric hospitalists. These board-certified pediatricians specialize in the care of hospitalized infants and children, assist with high-risk deliveries, and consult on pediatric emergency cases. In fact, Northwestern Lake Forest is the only emergency department in Lake County with these experts onsite all day, every day.

“They are immediately available if we need their support,” says Dr. Peters. “For parents, there’s nothing scarier than a sick child, and you should expect—and receive—only the very best at that moment when you choose an emergency department for your child.”

 

* Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital average wait times based on internal electronic medical records of 30,000 ED visits in 2010. National waiting time is a mean, reported in “National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.” Stephen Pitts, MD, MPH, FACEP, et al. National Health Statistics Reports. No. 7, August 6, 2008. Centers for Disease Control.