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Emergency Room

NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

Emergency Room

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Emergency Department Patient Guide

We are committed to providing excellent care and service to all of our patients. This guide will assist you in navigating through your stay in the Emergency Department (ED).

What to Expect?

First Evaluation

You will be triaged to evaluate your chief complaint and vital signs. This will be done by any of the following:

  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Nurse Practitioner (NP)
  • Physician Assistant (PA)

This is an opportunity to describe why you are here and let the provider know if you are in any pain. You’ll then be directed to a certain care area, all still within the ED:

  • Fast Track/Smart
  • Rapid Evaluation Unit (REU)
  • Main Emergency Department

Evaluation & Treatment

The team caring for you may include a nurse, nurse technician/assistant, and provider (medical student, NP, PA, resident physician, or attending physician) during your stay in the ED. You will likely need to repeat your chief complaint to the other members of the care team. We ask you to stay patient, as this ensures accuracy and safety. Please be prepared to share your past medical history, allergies, and a list of medications you may be taking.

Next Steps

Your ED Care Team will decide what tests and treatments can be provided, if any. If it’s safe for you to leave, you will be discharged. A Care Provider will give you any prescriptions you may need. If you need to stay in the hospital, you will be admitted and an Inpatient Care Team will continue your care.

Frequently Asked Question

Your wait time depends on the seriousness of your illness or injury. The average emergency department stay lasts 4-6 hours. If the ED is busy, wait time may be longer. To provide you with the best care possible, your care plan may include tests/procedures that take time to complete. Please remember, in order to provide the best care, patients with serious or life threatening illness are treated first.

Test/Procedures Approximate Time
  • Medication Administration 1 hour
  • Blood Work Results 2-3 hours
  • X-Ray Results 2-3 hours
  • CT Scan Results 2-4 hours
  • Specialty Consultation 2-4 hours

Please ask your Care Team if you may eat or drink. We do not want a full stomach to delay procedures or impact test results.

If you are admitted to the hospital, a different Care Team, called the Inpatient Team, will be taking care of you. The ED team will hand off your care to the Inpatient Team. You’ll be waiting in the ED until there is a bed available on the inpatient floor. Once a bed becomes available, the ED nursing team will inform you. A transporter will take you upstairs to the assigned bed.

Belongings

If you are admitted to the hospital, please ask for your belongings to be secured or send them home with a family member. We are not responsible for items that remain at bedside.

Visitation Guidelines

The health and safety of our patients, visitors, employees, and our community remain a top priority. Our visitation policies will reflect the latest guidelines issued by the New York State Department of Health related to the Emergency Department. Please speak with a member of our staff to discuss the specific visitation guidelines that are in place at the time of your visit.

We encourage you to provide your family with updates during your ED visit.

For general questions about exposure or health concern, you may contact the NYP COVID 19 PUBLIC HOTLINE at 646-697-4000.

For More Information on COVID-19 visit the CDC website at cdc.gov or NewYork Presbyterian website at nyp.org.

Please let us know if you’d like us to update your family member/caregiver via phone

Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store. You can also log in or sign up at myconnectnyc.org.

You can find your personal activation code and more information on your discharge instructions.

You can receive timely access to your test results, notes and follow-up instructions from your ED visit using the Connect application on your mobile device or computer.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated to help us understand what we do well and what we can do better. We will be sending you a brief survey via text or email after you return home. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about your recent visit to our Emergency Department.