Emergency care
Emergency care is the treatment of unexpected, severe medical injuries or infections. It is typically delivered in an emergency room or an ambulance. Our emergency medicine physicians stabilize your condition as quickly as possible to prepare you for the next step of care or discharge.
Emergency room in Niceville
Our ER specialists work together to provide expert emergency services to patients of all ages in one convenient location.
At HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital, our emergency room (ER) doctors offer 24/7 care to patients in Niceville and Crestview. As a result of our commitment to delivering high-quality care, we received recognition from The Joint Commission as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital. We are also recognized by Healthgrades for our dedication to patient safety.
Our emergency room features and services
Our ER team works around the clock to ensure you and your loved ones receive compassionate, comprehensive emergency care as quickly as possible.
Fast, collaborative emergency care
We designed our triage and treatment protocols to treat patients quickly while maintaining the highest levels of medical care. We communicate with our local emergency medical services teams directly to adequately prepare for our patients' arrivals. When patients reach our hospital, our board-certified physicians assess, diagnose and treat patients based on their individual needs.
Kid-friendly ER
We understand children have unique needs. We go the extra mile at our kid-friendly ER to ensure our youngest patients receive the bedside manner and care they deserved. Our board-certified emergency physicians, registered nurses and other qualified healthcare providers are specially trained to treat children and are available 24/7.
Advanced heart attack care
A heart attack occurs when blood is prevented from reaching the heart, usually due to a blood clot. If heart attack symptoms appear, it's important to seek immediate medical attention. Our ER offers 24/7 heart attack treatment and state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring and testing.
Expert stroke treatment
A stroke is a medical emergency where blood flow to the brain is either stopped or reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen. A stroke may cause a loss of brain function and affect movement and speech.
It's essential to act quickly when signs of stroke appear because fast treatment decreases the likelihood of stroke-related disability. As an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital, we are recognized for delivering high-quality stroke treatment when patients need it most.
Critical Care Unit
If a medical emergency requires critical care and an inpatient stay, we care for patients in our Critical Care Unit. Our team is made up of registered nurses who provide individualized care and medical management to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Our emergency room wait times
When it comes to emergency care, our goal is to continually work toward enhancing the care you receive, while reducing our wait times. This ensures you get the care you need, when you need it most.
Our wait times are updated every 30 minutes and are available on our website.
To find out the wait times of the HCA Florida emergency room nearest to you, check the top of our website or text "ER" to 32222.
Note: Message and data rates may apply. Emergency room wait times are approximate and provided for informational purposes only.
When to go to the emergency room
Conditions that may require emergency care
We want you to feel secure about your choice for care, which is why we've created a list of symptoms that may indicate you need to visit the emergency room:
- Back pain, when it is unbearable or accompanied by fever, numbness, weakness, confusion, slurred speech, vision loss or loss of control over bladder or bowels
- Broken bones, when the pain is severe or there is a visible deformity
- Chest pain, when it is crushing or squeezing and accompanied by other heart attack symptoms, such as shortness of breath or nausea
- Concussion, when you have lost consciousness, even briefly, or experience amnesia, vomiting, slurred speech or a seizure
- Flu, when symptoms become severe, such as having trouble breathing, vomiting uncontrollably or becoming dehydrated
- Side pain, when it is severe and occurs in the lower right stomach, side or back or is accompanied by fever, nausea, diarrhea or blood in the urine
- Stomach pain, when accompanied by a hard or tender stomach, nausea, shortness of breath, fever or irregular heartbeat
- Trouble breathing, when breathing stops, is noisy or high-pitched and comes with pain in the chest or severe shortness of breath
If you are unsure if your symptoms require an emergency room visit, you can speak to a nurse 24/7 by calling our Consult-A-Nurse line.
What to expect at the emergency room
When you get to the emergency room, one of our triage nurses will assess your symptoms and vital signs. Next, a registration clerk will collect your insurance card (if available) and other information.
We medically screen, evaluate and stabilize all patients — whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay.
Anyone who has severe, life-threatening illnesses or injuries will be treated first. Everyone else will be treated in the order they arrive.
Before discharge, we encourage you to ask our emergency care teams any questions you have. It is also useful for you to keep all of your paperwork, discharge information and medicines or prescriptions together after you leave the emergency room.
What to bring to the emergency room
When coming to the emergency room, we recommend you bring:
- A list of medicines you currently take
- A list of known allergies
- Copies of results from recent medical tests, if available
- Personal care preferences and restrictions
- A responsible adult or phone number for someone to contact
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