Since September 2015, the rate of ED patients being discharged with a prescription for oral opioids has been reduced by 59 percent, officials said.

“The nation’s, and our county’s, opioid epidemic was growing for years. But we are doing our part to reduce narcotics prescriptions,” said Elizabeth Juneau, RN, BSN, BC, the hospital’s medical staff review analyst. “Our Emergency Department has stepped up its focus on delivering evidence-based care to our patients while reducing the prescribing of narcotics. Although absolutely necessary in some cases, other forms of pain management are being used to help prevent the risk of addiction to these habit-forming pain medications.”

The department has seen its overall patient satisfaction rating increase over the same period. “I am proud of the outstanding patient care provided by our staff in the Emergency Department — its emergency medicine physicians, their specialist colleagues on-call, and all the nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses and support staff that are deserving of the credit,” said John Schon, DCHS administrator-CEO. “As you can imagine, the emergency care environment is very stressful, but our entire staff rises to the occasion and cares for our emergent patients like they are their family.”

The Dickinson County Healthcare System Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year and provides comprehensive emergency care to anyone, regardless of their insurance coverage or ability to pay.

Some members of the Dickinson County Healthcare System Emergency Department team are, from left, Jim Holcomb, PFE; Ruth Presley, HUC; Jamie Formolo, RN; Dr. Eric Toth; Susie Berquist, RN; Lauren Roell, RN; Heather Marsicek, LPN; and Kimberly Jefferson, RN.

“We are proud to offer care for everyone who needs our specialized attention,” said Michelle Miron, RN, department manager. “It’s part of our mission to the community, and it’s something our residents need to safely live and work in this region.”

General surgeons, pediatricians, obstetricians and orthopedic surgeons are always on call should a patient need specialty care. The DCHS Emergency Department physicians are all employed by the hospital, other than one local independent contractor. Five of the department’s physicians are board certified in emergency medicine and one is board certified in family medicine.

DCHS treated 27,461 emergency and convenience care patients in 2017, including 17,070 in the Emergency Department itself and 10,391 in the Convenient Care Clinic.

The department billed $43,851,394 to patients for services provided during the past fiscal year but collected only $10,628,888. Expenses incurred by DCHS for operation of the Emergency Department during the past fiscal year totaled $10,876,606.

To remain viable, the round-the-clock Emergency Department needs revenues generated by other outpatient services, including lab tests and imaging, officials said. “When you insist on coming home to DCHS for lab work or imaging ordered by any provider, you are actually making sure that when you need us, we will be here for you,” Schon said.