Emergency Services at Littleton Regional Healthcare is an integrated team providing urgent or emergent care to critically ill and/or seriously injured persons. LRH provides a valuable service to the community and region, offering high-quality care to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Emergency Department team provides expert emergency care to over 9,800 adult and pediatric patients annually.
Emergency Department Information
- Board-certified Emergency physicians oversee patient care, along with the treatment team that consists of emergency registered nurses, and health unit coordinators.
- Additional expert consultation is readily available to the Emergency Physicians as needed in virtually all medical and surgical specialties here at LRH and a nearby level one trauma center.
- Emergency nurses working alongside physicians provide the backbone of the team at LRH’s Emergency Department providing high quality, patient and family-centered, compassionate emergency care.
- All of the Emergency Department’s internal entrances are secure; all employees use a pass card to enter and visitors need to be buzzed in, enhancing privacy and security for patients, their families, and our staff.
Emergency Department Providers
People who require the most urgent care will be treated first. When you arrive you will meet with a member of the emergency triage team who will evaluate your condition and make you comfortable in the most appropriate area of the department.
The following information provides an explanation of the sorting standard of how patients are evaluated for treatment in the emergency department:
- RESUSCITATION: Conditions that are a threat to life requiring immediate aggressive intervention to restore or preserve life.
- EMERGENT: Conditions that are a potential threat to life, limb or function requiring immediate intervention.
- URGENT: Conditions that are a serious illness or injury requiring intervention. Usually associated with significant distress or discomfort.
- LESS URGENT: Conditions presenting as an illness or injury requiring intervention. Usually associated with mild to moderate distress or discomfort.
- NON-URGENT: Conditions that are a minor illness or injury for which intervention could be delayed or deferred. Usually associated with minimal or no distress or discomfort.
Visiting the emergency department can be traumatic. At LRH we do everything we can to make the registration process as convenient as possible for you. The following is what you can expect during registration at LRH’s emergency department:
Important Documents & Information for Your Visit to the Emergency Department
- Keep medical records, including immunization records, and a list of all medications you are currently taking, updated and bring them with you.
- Have the name and phone number of your primary physician available.
- Inform medical personnel right away of any allergies.
The registrar will ask you or (if you are too ill) a family member:
- Why you are in the Emergency Department (ED).
- Your name, address, and the name of your family doctor.
- The registrar will review your insurance information with you. If you have no insurance, the registrar will give you information about the Financial Aid Program.
- The registrar will also ask you or your family member to sign a consent form. This allows the hospital to treat you in the ED and to bill your insurance.
How long will you have to wait?
There are many factors involved in how soon you will be treated including:
- The severity of your injury or illness
- The volume of patients on that given day
Please understand that the most seriously ill and/or injured patients are treated first. Medical care in the emergency department is not offered on a “first come, first served” basis.
We know that extended wait times for care in the Emergency Department can seem painfully long. Unfortunately, there are many factors beyond our control causing extended use of Emergency Departments.
Please understand that our average wait time is well below state and national norms. If your injury or illness is severe your wait time will be dramatically less than these averages.
On departure:
Follow up instructions about how you can see a primary care provider or specialist will be given to you at the time of discharge. If you do not have a provider, we can refer you to the appropriate physician for follow-up care. You will also be given information about any signs and symptoms, which would alert you to return to the ED. Please ASK if you do not understand your follow-up care instructions. We will review the information with you to ensure you understand.
The Emergency Department continually seeks opportunities to invite nursing students for clinical rotations in the Emergency Department setting and is also a teaching ground for all levels of emergency medical technicians.
Littleton Regional Healthcare is 20 minutes or less from nearly all of the communities we serve. We can stabilize your condition. If necessary, we can admit you to the hospital or transport you to a tertiary care center in a timely, caring manner, using varied transportation methods, including ambulance and air transport.
Contact Information
- If you have questions about your discharge instructions from a recent Emergency Department visit, please call 603-444-9300.
- If you have clinical questions, please call 603-444-9000 to speak with an operator who can help direct your call to the appropriate person.
