Florida Hospital Tampa To Open State-Of-The-Art Emergency Room/ICU

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 130 million Americans visit an emergency room (ER) every year, for everything from injury-related emergencies like broken bones, cuts and burns to unexplained illnesses like chest, abdominal and head pain.  But, how do you know when it’s time to go to the ER?  Unfortunately, this is a question many people only ask themselves when faced with a personal emergency.

Dr. Wenzel Tirheimer, the Emergency Room Medical Director at Florida Hospital Tampa on E. Fletcher Ave. at Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., has been a Board-certified emergency medicine physician for more than 14 years and has seen a wide variety of emergencies. “When you practice emergency medicine, you see people at their most vulnerable point,” Dr. Tirheimer says. “The fear and uncertainty of what to do in an emergency can be as bad as the pain or illness you’re feeling.”

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the following signs and symptoms constitute emergencies that may require medical attention:

• Head injury, with fainting and/or confusion

• Injury to neck or spine, especially with loss of feeling or inability to move

• Trouble breathing

• Passing out, fainting

• Dizziness or weakness that does not go away

• Severe chest pain or pressure

• Pain in the arm or jaw

• Sudden unusual or very bad headache

• Suddenly not being able to speak, see, walk, or move

• Sudden weakness or drooping on one side of face or body

• Seizures, especially those that last 3-5 minutes

• Possible broken bones, loss of movement

• Coughing or throwing up blood

• Severe pain anywhere on the body

• Severe burn

• Severe allergic reaction with trouble breathing, swelling and/or hives

• High fever that doesn’t get better with medicine

• Throwing up or loose stools that don’t stop

 

When it comes to the question of whether or not to go to the ER, Dr. Tirheimer’s advice is simple:

“Always err on the side of caution,” Dr. Tirheimer says. “If you think you or a loved one may need emergency medical care, call 9-1-1 immediately.” This is especially true for head and neck traumas, which don’t always present symptoms right away.

Sometime early this month, Florida Hospital Tampa is opening a new state-of-the-art emergency room and intensive care unit (ICU) tower with a new model of emergency care for the Tampa Bay community.

The new $53-million emergency room is twice the size of FHT’s current ER and includes 48 private treatment rooms, an observation care area, and dedicated X-ray, ultrasound and 128-slice CT imaging. The new, $17-million ICU Tower features 22 spacious, private treatment rooms designed to accommodate their most critical patients and family members.

For example, there is a new Doc1stERSM process, which is scheduled to be online as the new ER opens, to ensure patients are seen by a Board-certified emergency medicine physician first in an emergency. This revolutionary concept pushes typical ER points of contact like registration and paperwork to the back of the ER experience, keeping the focus on treating each patient’s emergency as quickly as possible.

“Providing quality care for patients during their most critical time of need is the reason why we’re here,” Dr. Tirheimer says. “Seeing the doctor at the beginning of the ER experience will provide faster diagnoses and better outcomes for our patients, which is what the Tampa Bay community deserves.”

For more info, visit FHTampa.org/NewER or call (813) 615-7300. Florida Hospital Tampa is located at 3100 East Fletcher Ave. Tampa. — Submitted to & edited by the New Tampa Neighborhood News.