Services
The Emergency Department at Grady Memorial Hospital holds as our core values that patient care should be:
- Safe
- Timely
- Efficient
- Effective
- Equitable
- Patient-Centered
Our team continually strives to achieve these values through our operations, our educational programs, and our innovative research. The Emergency Department is divided into the following treatment spaces:
Triage
All patients who present to the Emergency Department for care are first evaluated in the Ambulatory or Ambulance Triage area. This evaluation helps us determine the severity of a patient’s injury or condition. Patients seen in the ambulatory section of triage will be rapidly assessed by a nurse and PA/NP team where laboratory and/or other diagnostic studies can be initiated. A small segment of non-urgent patients can be seen and discharged from triage and given primary care follow-up through our Patient Navigator Program.
Marcus Trauma Center
Grady Health System is the premier Level 1 Trauma Center within a 100-mile radius of Atlanta. Grady provides comprehensive care to many of the most critically injured patients from across Georgia. That is why we say Atlanta can't live without Grady. Grady handles close to 3,500 acute trauma admissions each year. Grady's extended trauma facilities include ready access to surgical suites, burn unit, LifeFlight, and AngelFlight (air medical transport programs), Angel II (neonatal transport units) and our Emergency Medical Service (ambulance program).
The recently opened Marcus Trauma Center added a 15-bed, state of the art, trauma resuscitation area inside the Emergency Department. The unit has 7 major resuscitation rooms, 8 moderate/minor trauma rooms, a self-contained digital radiology suite and reading room, 2 conference rooms and on-call rooms. The new Trauma Center is complemented by a dedicated trauma operating room (with surgical team and physician) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in partnership with Emory University and Morehouse schools of medicine. These dedicated doctors, partnered with Grady's highly-skilled and compassionate nurses and medical technicians, are responsible for saving lives.
Blue Zone
The Blue Zone is designed to treat high acuity emergencies, although any patient who presents for care may be seen in this area. A major resuscitation room anchors this area along with eight critical care rooms, seven respiratory isolation rooms, and several general patient care areas. All rooms are capable of cardiac monitoring.
Red Zone
The Red Zone area is designed to treat moderate to minor patients, though any patient may be evaluated in this area. Two resuscitation bays, with the capacity for four simultaneous major or moderate patients, anchor this area. This area also has general care rooms, an orthopedic room, a gynecology evaluation room, and an eye, ear, nose, and throat room. All rooms are capable of cardiac monitoring.
Patient Ambulatory Care Express – (PACe)
The Patient Ambulatory Care Express's (PACe) mission is to treat people seeking emergency care at the Grady ECC for relatively minor conditions. Grady Health System employees, transports from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and victims of sexual assaults are additionally seen in the PACe area. The PACe facility operates 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week and is staffed primarily by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Clinical Decision Unit (CDU)
The Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) provides an alternative to hospital admission. The CDU at Grady is a 7-bed unit attached to the ECC. All patients are evaluated by a case manager who helps coordinate care, provide education, and ensure appropriate follow-up. The unit admits patients directly from the Emergency Department. Patients receive their initial evaluation and treatment in the general area of the ECC. Plans are underway to expand the CDU to a 20-bed unit by 2013.
Red/Behavioral Observation Unit
Grady operates the region's only 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) and Crisis Stabilization Unit. Many of these patients require a medical evaluation prior to or in addition to their mental healthcare. This closed unit, with a 24/7 observer stationed in the area, allows for the necessary medical evaluation. Once stabilized, patients are immediately transferred to the PES for the completion of their evaluation.