In the emergency department at Capital Region patients are the top priority. Care move quickly and the pace can be overwhelming at times. You can rest assured the emergency team are well equipped to take care of you or your loved one.

Our professional emergency department is staffed by physicians and registered nurses, including:

• six physicians
• 26 Registered Nurses that are Certified in Trauma
• six Registered Nurses that are Certified Emergency Nurses

Access to Care
In the event you require care from a level one trauma center, Capital Region, through it's affiliation with University of Missouri Health System, has access to the most visited trauma center in the area.

SonoSite

The SonoSite 180 Ultrasound is a hand-held system that enables emergency room physicians to quickly assess and treat internal injuries and/or cardiac trauma. The unit also is used for non-trauma evaluation of abdominal pain, pelvic pain, obstetrical cases and aortic aneurysms. This emergency department equipment helps us improve patient care by providing rapid patient assessment.

When a heart attack occurs, there is a limited amount of time before significant and long-lasting damage is done to the muscle of your heart. If a large area of the heart is injured during the heart attack, full recovery becomes much more difficult. To obtain the greatest benefits of emergency care, anyone who thinks they are having a heart attack should get to the hospital within one hour of the onset of symptoms. The sooner you get to the emergency room, the sooner the appropriate treatment can begin, meaning the lesser the chances of permanent damage.

Signs of a Heart Attack

• Sudden chest pain or pressure (also called angina) that worsens. This may be felt as discomfort, heaviness, or pain. May also be felt in the back, jaw, throat, arm or below the breastbone.
• Feeling as if a belt is being tightened around your chest
• Pain that spreads from the center of the chest to your arms, shoulders, neck or jaw
• Sweating
• Feeling sick to your stomach, nausea, vomiting
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• A fullness, indigestion or choking feeling (may feel like "heartburn")
• Rapid or irregular heartbeats
• Extreme weakness, anxiety

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, call 911. Emergency response personnel are trained to administer tests in the field to determine if you are having a heart attack. Physicians at the Capital Region Emergency Room can review EKG readings from the field and a cardiac team can be waiting for you upon arrival. Do not phone a friend first and please do not drive yourself, this puts you and other motorists at greater risk for injury or death.

When should I go to the Emergency Room vs. an Urgent Care Facility?
Frequently, patients seek the services of the hospital emergency department for ailments or injuries that could be treated more economically, and just as effectively, at an urgent care facility such as Capital Region's Health Branch West. It is not always easy to determine when you should choose urgent care over the hospital emergency department. The following lists offer some guidance, but are not necessarily all inclusive.

Emergency Department

• Chest pain with shortness of breath and/or sweating
• Serious or severe injuries
• Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy
• Altered mental states
• Seizure
• Blacking out/unconsciousness
• Digit or extremity amputation
• Poison ingestion

Urgent Care: Health Branch West

• Any illness or injury that would prompt you to see your primary care physician
• Laceration repair (minor cuts)
• Infected ingrown toenails
• Removal of foreign bodies from the eye
• Treatment of minor burns
• Earaches
• Persistant coughs or colds
• Persistant low-grade fever
• Strains or sprains
• Urinary Tract Infections
• Skin rashes or irriations

Want to know more about the process in our Emergency Room? Download our Emergency Room Brochure  (pdf)