If you are experiencing a medical or behavioral health emergency, please go immediately to your nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1.
When a medical emergency strikes, South Carolinians look to the experts at MUSC Health. We offer fast, expert treatment for complex injuries, life-threatening illnesses and serious health complications. Our team of specialists stands ready 24 hours a day to care for heart attack, stroke, accidents, and other serious medical problems.
MUSC Health is home to several prestigious designations and nationally recognized programs that help adults and children survive medical emergencies and return to their everyday lives. These programs and designations include:
MUSC Health is home to the only Level I trauma center in the Charleston. This designation means we have teams of experts who stand ready to care for people with the most severe injuries and sudden, dangerous illnesses, including internal bleeding.
Experts at The South Carolina Burn Center at MUSC Health treat all burns, from routine to complex, with a focus on getting you or your loved one back to daily activities as soon as possible. Patients of every age and body type can get advanced burn care right here in South Carolina. You don’t need to travel to get the specialized burn treatments you need.
MUSC Health’s Chest Pain Center is accredited by the Joint Commission. Our team includes world-class cardiovascular specialists who quickly come together to diagnose problems associated with chest pain, such as heart attacks.
MUSC Health offers South Carolina’s only full-service pediatric emergency program along with a Level I trauma center. We treat children with severe illnesses and injuries.
Through our telestroke program, we can help rapidly assess patients in rural areas who are experiencing stroke-like symptoms. Using special teleconferencing equipment, we work with local doctors to coordinate care. Our services make it possible for people to receive expert care close to home or transfer to MUSC Health only when medically necessary. Find out more about our Neuroscience Telehealth programs.
We are the first program in South Carolina recognized as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. This designation means we offer timely access to the best available treatments, including clot-busting drugs and surgery when necessary.
At MUSC Health, you have around-the-clock access to experienced doctors in nearly every medical specialty. For complex problems, we may coordinate with MUSC Health specialists for testing and treatments.
Welcome to the MUSC Emergency Department. Thank you for choosing us for your healthcare needs. We want to share some information with you so you will know what to expect during your stay with us.
When you arrive, please sign in at the entrance desk. A technician will enter your information into the computer and take your vital signs including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, and temperature.
We want to make sure you know that patients are not always seen in the order that they arrive to our emergency department. Our providers have to give priority to patients who are at higher risk of permanent injury, disability or death.
As soon as possible, you will see a medical provider for initial screening. This may be a doctor, a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, and a triage nurse. The provider will ask you questions about your illness or injury, review your medical history, and begin your treatment plan.
The phlebotomist/tech will see you next. This is the care team member who will start your iv, draw blood, collect additional samples.
The triage medical provider will then decide the best location for you to receive additional care. The nurse makes this decision based on your condition as well as on the condition and care of other patients being treated in the emergency department. You may not require placement in a monitored room. This will not affect the quality of the care that you receive.
Once you are placed in the best location for the kind of care you need, you will be evaluated further by additional care team members. Additional testing, treatments, and medications may be ordered.
You probably have questions about how long these additional tests and treatments may be expected to take.
Medications should be administered in a timely fashion but may have to be prepared in a pharmacy that is not in the emergency department.
Please rest assured that all the care team members in the emergency department are working as quickly and efficiently as possible to care for you and the other patients who need us. We understand that delays and uncertainty are difficult under any circumstances but especially difficult when you are not feeling well or in pain. Your Care Team Members will make every effort to keep you and your family updated on your plan of care. Please do not hesitate to ask for an update at any time. Thank you for partnering with us for your healthcare needs.
