Emergency Department Rated Among Top In Nation

North Country Hospital emergency department physician Ron Holland, MD,
demonstrates the ED’s new ultrasound equipment.

Nobody enjoys taking a trip to the emergency department (ED) of any hospital, but if patient satisfaction scores are any indicator, the ED at North Country Hospital is sure making a stressful trip a bit more tolerable for its patients.
“According to patient satisfaction scores we're doing better than 88-percent of hospitals of similar size to North Country in the United States,” Dr. Paul Newton explained as he and his colleague, Linda Libby R.N., went over the results of a recent patient satisfaction survey. “We're pleased with the results,” Linda added. However, the pair said that the department is always striving to offer even better and timelier medical care.
Dr. Newton is the medical director in the ED, while Libby is the director of nursing.
One area that Dr. Newton and Linda said that they are constantly working on is shortening the wait time for patients from the time they first enter the ED lobby to the time they see a member of the medical team. This is a problem that many ED’s face, but they are happy to say that the wait time is continuing to decrease. For that matter, the wait time at North Country is less than half the wait time of the national average.
They are extremely understanding of patients' frustrations about having to wait in the lobby when they are sick and feel miserable, and they appreciate their patience. In addition, they appreciate that most patients understand that some patients who arrive at the ED, even some who walk in under their own power, might go to the head of the line, immediately seeing a member of the medical team. This is particularly true if the person has Obviously suffered major trauma, or are showing obvious signs of a catastrophic medical crisis such as a heart attack or stroke.
One new piece of medical equipment that will make things more convenient for patients in the ED is an ultrasound machine the size of a laptop computer. The device allows the doctors to see inside a patient's body to look for signs of trauma and severe bleeding.
Ultrasound is nothing new at North Country, they explained, but such a portable unit will not only improve the speed of a medical diagnosis, but will also improve speed of medical care. In extreme situations, this could mean saved lives. Before this unit arrived at North Country patients were transported to a stationary ultrasound unit down a hallway in the hospital. If an ultrasound was required in the middle of the night patients often were required to wait until an ultrasound technician arrived at the hospital. This new ultrasound unit does not replace the stationary unit and many patients will go on to have a full ultrasound exam in the radiology department. It does allow the ED physician to gather critical information to help make decisions about patient care more quickly.
Dr. Marc Bouchard, a doctor in the ED, praised the new device, having recently used it on a patient who suffered injuries in a car accident. The patient was complaining of severe chest and abdominal pain.
“I was able to use the ultrasound to see that there was no significant amount of blood in the abdomen,” Dr. Bouchard said. “This helped me rule out any severe spleen or liver injury. Because of this we were able to proceed with a workup without needing to activate the Operating room or launching the helicopter from DHART. With the ultrasound I could also see that there was no pneumothorax, and therefore determined that we did not need to arrange for a chest tube. I think we will become more familiarized with the machine and expedite the appropriate timely care needed in these situations.”
Dr. Newton and Linda commended the entire team in the ED for their dedication to the department and the patients it serves, including going above and beyond in advancing their education.
“The emergency department at North Country is committed to clinical excellence and the same standards as a medical center,” Libby said proudly.

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