Shands AGH's Emergency Department provides emergency and urgent care to patients of all ages 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Several nurses and physicians are specially trained in emergency medicine. Four of our emergency medicine physicians are fellows of the American College of Emergency Physicians, a medical specialty society that sets high standards for emergency medical education and practice.

The Emergency Department is a 20-bed unit with four separate exam rooms called the Urgent Care Center.

Urgent Care Center

The Urgent Care Center (UCC) is designed to treat patients with non-emergent problems. It is staffed by board-certified family practice physicians.

The UCC is designed to treat patients with minor ailments, such as sprains, fractures, earaches, sore throats, upper respiratory infections, and minor motor vehicle accident injuries. A nurse performs an initial assessment to determine if the patient can best be treated in the UCC or the Emergency Department.

The benefit of having the UCC located within the Emergency Department means the medical staff is right there should a patient's condition worsen.

Forensic Nurse Examiners

Shands AGH is the only hospital in North Central Florida to have certified sexual assault nurse examiners. These nurses, who are referred to as forensic nurse examiners, are trained to provide specialized, quality care to victims of physical and sexual abuse.

Forensic nurse examiners are trained to look for signs of abuse, such as:

• Nervous behavior
• Unusual injuries
• Vague medical complaints

If a victim of domestic violence is identified, a forensic nurse examiner will ask a series of questions and perform a thorough physical assessment upon receiving the patient's consent. This assessment is done privately and the information obtained remains confidential for the safety of the patient.

Information

For more information about Shands AGH's Emergency Department, call 352.733.0290.

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