UK HealthCare Emergency Services
UK HealthCare Emergency Services includes the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, the Makenna David Pediatric Emergency Center, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, ground transport services and emergency communications. Annually, this service line has over 100,000 emergency visits and more than 7,000 ground transports and manages almost 200,000 incoming radio and phone calls.
Emergency Services registered nurses routinely provide complex, evidence-based care to critically ill and injured patients. Nursing staff receive a prescriptive orientation that ensures their competency to care for patient populations with medical needs spanning low-acuity issues through critical care. Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course, Trauma Nursing Core Course and other specialty classes are completed during orientation. Emergency nursing certification is encouraged and supported.
Emergency Services is a highly skilled interprofessional team that also includes board-certified emergency physicians, advanced practice providers, paramedics, nursing care technicians, emergency medical technicians, and patient clerical assistants.
Chandler Hospital Emergency Department
Chandler Hospital is home to an academic emergency department verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Trauma Center. This department is divided into care areas that include triage, a vertical treatment space/fast track, acute care, critical care, trauma and observation.
Makenna David Pediatric Emergency Center
The Makenna David Pediatric Emergency Center is verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. This department provides care from birth through 18 years of age, and in some cases even older if followed by a pediatric specialty service. UK HealthCare Child Life Services is part of the interprofessional team and oversees a dedicated sensory room available for children with special needs.
Good Samaritan Hospital Emergency department
Good Samaritan Hospital is a community hospital within the UK HealthCare academic system, with emergency physician coverage provided by Chandler Hospital providers. The emergency department was fully renovated in 2019, and behaviorally safe rooms are available for patients with acute behavioral emergencies.
Trauma Program Office
The Trauma Program Office provides the day-to-day administrative operations for maintaining the UK HealthCare Chandler Hospital Adult Level I Trauma Center and the Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Level I Trauma Center. The services provided include:
- Transfer information
- Trauma education
- Trauma outreach & injury prevention programs
- Trauma registry
Emergency Transport
Emergency transport is composed of three ground ambulances primarily intended for movement of low-acuity patients from Chandler to Good Samaritan. This team also responds to emergencies on the medical campus and in public areas of the hospitals. Ground transport staff are also essential members of the UK HealthCare extracorporeal membrane oxygenation transport team.
Emergency Communications
The emergency communications team manages incoming ambulance and helicopter communications, providing arrival information to emergency department charge nurses. Staff also perform flight following, greet and escort arriving aeromedical patients, and provide transportation for the pediatric/neonatal emergency transport team.
Meet one of our nurses
Meet Khay Douangdara, registered divisional charge nurse for emergency services here at UK HealthCare. Khay loves the sense of welcome and community at UK HealthCare and the significant positive impact that he can make on the lives of his patients.
Watch more videos from this series on our Youtube channel.