Emergency Department
The Emergency Department at Pella Regional provides emergency care due to injury or illness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our department is verified by the state of Iowa as a Level III Area Trauma Care Facility.
Our specially trained team is dedicated to providing patients with the highest quality emergency care. Our board-certified physicians as well as our nursing staff who are certified in adult and pediatric advanced life support and trauma nursing provide effective and compassionate treatment of injuries and illnesses.
Our Emergency Department cares for more than 10,000 patients with a wide variety of medical conditions each year. We utilize a triage system in which patients who come to the Emergency Department with the most serious conditions are treated first.
Our health care team will provide evaluation and patient care management utilizing the latest diagnostic testing and referral, when needed, for the next phase of your health care.
What is an Emergency?
If someone needs emergency care, they need to come to the Emergency Department and have a doctor examination. A phone call is not a good idea. If it’s an emergency, the person needs to be treated as soon as possible, and staff can’t advise anyone over the phone or provide proper care without an exam. If it is a life threatening condition, or if the condition could worsen on the way to the hospital, the person should not drive. They need to call 911.
The American College of Emergency Physicians and the doctors of Pella Regional offer these general guidelines for these symptoms that are considered emergencies:
- Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
- Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure
- Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness
- Changes in vision
- Confusion or changes in mental status
- Any sudden, severe pain
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
- Coughing or vomiting blood
- Suicidal feelings
- Difficulty speaking
- Unusual abdominal pain
Some conditions that generally don’t call for an Emergency Department visit, and can be handled by a regular doctor the next day are:
- Earaches
- Minor cuts in which bleeding has stopped
- A sprain, rash or minor sunburn
- An insect sting (unless there is shortness of breath—then go to the Emergency Department or call 911)
- Fever (unless there are convulsions—then go to the Emergency Department)
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Colds, coughs and sore throats
