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 (ER) in Brooksville, Florida
When you need emergency care, you want to receive the best treatment as quickly as possible. We're here to make that happen.
At HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital, our emergency room in West Central Florida is prepared to handle any medical emergency any time, day or night. Our emergency physicians, nurses and specialists provide adults and children with rapid, lifesaving care. Additionally, because we offer the region's only pediatric emergency room and Hernando County's only open-heart program, we’re able to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for your whole family.
Comprehensive emergency care
To ensure you receive the best possible emergency care experience, we provide private pediatric rooms and minimal wait times. We also offer diagnostic imaging and a full-service laboratory with quick turnaround times for fast, accurate results.
Advanced stroke care
When you are experiencing a stroke, every second counts. The faster treatment can be administered, the greater the likelihood for positive outcomes.
To ensure you receive this, our emergency care team consistently meets strict standards of excellent stroke care. This has earned us The Joint Commission's designation as a Primary Stroke Center, so you can feel secure when your care is in our hands.
Dedicated pediatric emergency room
When your little one is sick, you only want the best. We offer exactly that, giving them gentle pediatric emergency care in a compassionate, warm environment. Our highly trained emergency team is committed to their well-being and comfort. Additionally, all of our nurses are certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
We take steps to provide an "ouchless" experience in our eight private pediatric emergency treatment rooms with child-friendly decorations and child-centered protocols.
Opioid management and awareness
At our hospital, we recognize abuse of prescription-controlled substances is an increasing problem within our community.
In an effort to provide the best and safest care possible, we follow these established guidelines for pain management in our emergency room:
- Our ER team will effectively manage the pain of anyone showing acute symptoms. When it comes to the appropriate and safe management of chronic pain, however, you should consult your primary care doctor, advanced practice professional (APP) or pain management specialist.
- When appropriate, our ER doctors and APPs may use a combination of non-opioid medications to treat acute pain.
- Adults are required to provide a government-issued form of identification, and prescriptions will be limited to three days.
- Our ER team will not replace lost, stolen or destroyed prescriptions.
- The ER doctors and APPs will prescribe prescription refills only in consultation and agreement with your primary care doctor, APP or pain management specialist.
- The ER doctors and APPs will prescribe the lowest effective dosage of pain medications.
- The ER doctor and APPs will prescribe fast-acting pain management, which offers immediate release instead of extended-release of medications.
- The ER doctors and APPs will not administer an opiate if the patient:
- Received an opiate prescription within the last 10 days
- Has multiple providers, forged a prescription, altered a prescription or altered any facts
- Has attempted to obtain medication under false pretenses
These are the highlights of our established pain management guidelines. A copy of our complete guidelines may be obtained upon written request to the ER medical director.
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.
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
We understand it can be hard to know what type of medical care you need, like whether you should go to the emergency room or wait for your doctor's office to open.
However, 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® team at (888) 741-5120.
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. We medically screen, evaluate and stabilize all patients — whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay. Next, a registration clerk will collect your insurance card (if available) and other information.
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.
After discharge, our emergency room team will contact your primary care provider to ensure they are updated on your care.
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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