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s THE PORT PERRY STAR OFFICIAL COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL EXPANSION SECTION Ni \J| & MERGENCY! It's a worst-case scenario in everyone's life, but the word rings loud whenever consid- eration is given the local hospital. It's the busiest, most high-pres- sure department in any hospital, dealing with everything from high fevers to broken bones and more serious occurrences like car accidents and cardiac events. And at Community Memorial Hospital, Emergency is no different. "It is a very high-pressure area," said Fenna Gjaltema, unit manager for the emergency depart- ment at Community Memorial. She credits the efficiency of the department here to a number of highly-qualified and dedicated nurs- es who make up the Emergency crew, Scugog's first line of defense against trauma and tragedy. "We have an excellent nursing staff in Emergency, and they're all highly- qualified," said Mrs. Gjaltema. That staff consists of three full-time and eight part-time nurses, as well as some casual workers. Typically one RN is stationed at Emergency, and is responsible for quickly assessing a patient's ailment or injury. Rehabilitation, Services Lab Facilities TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1995 - 5 Trauma room provides injured with excellent equipment and care "Last year we had three Code Purples," Mrs. Gjaltema said, adding that it's the call of the person on duty to issue the wide-reaching alert or not: "That's all up to the RN that's on (duty) at the time." Until the time of the hospital expan- sion, Emergency was housed in a much smaller area at Community Memorial. Now, in new, expanded quarters, the department is able to operate even more efficiently and quickly. A new trauma room where patients can be stabilized and their injuries siz- ed up helps enormously, and the department has also been accumulat- ing new, state-of-the-art equipment which aids Emergency workers in quickly assessing situations, and decid- ing upon courses of action. "We have the latest, up-to- -date equipment in our Emergency area,' said Mrs. Gjaltema. "We are really at the top of the line when it comes to a hospital of our size." The primary role of Emergency is to stabilize patients, said Mrs. Gjaltema. Then it's up to the people at Community Memorial to decide wheth- er they can be treated locally, or trans- ferred. Patients can be taken to Oshawa General by land ambulance, or to one of Toronto's medical centres by air. Sometimes, say, when a child with a fever is brought in by his or her mother, the alarm doesn't have to be sounded. At other times, though, it becomes necessary to mobilize | as many staff -- nurses | and doctors included -- | as possible to deal with | situations. 7 A case in point was the brutal bank rob- bery in Port Perry last October, when three police officers and two civilians were injured by gunfire. That situa- tion may sound over- whelming for a rela- tively small communi- Those decisions have to be made quickly, often under conditions of extreme stress: In the last fis- cal year dating April 1994 to April 1995, some 12,460 visits were lodged in Emergency's books. In addition, 200 patients were given scopes, and 210 cared for under the , hospital's same-day surgery program. Of course, not all of those situations: were life-threaten- ing; much of the time, Emergency ser- vices involve stitch- ty hospital, but Community Memorial has the plans in place to deal with such extremes. It's called Code Purple, and once it's sounded, all staff available are - called in to administer crisis aid. A Code Purple can also be issued in the event there's a car accident or some other occur- rence which results in three or more people sustaining serious injuries, or six or more with minor injuries. Reception COM - Emergency es, setting casts, and, in some cases, advis- ing patients to attend the local medical clinic for care of non-critical conditions. That last category prompts Mrs. Gjaltema to urge people to think twice before coming to Emergency with com- plaints that can be dealt with else- where more effectively. "The first thing you think about, if ._ there's something wrong, is to go to Emerg," she said. "Our Emergency department should be used for emergencies." By Jeff Mitchell - Port Perry Star