New Emergency Center in College Station
St. Joseph Opens Emergency Center
St. Joseph Emergency Center – College Station, located at 4411 Highway 6 South, opened in late 2009. This is the Brazos Valley’s first freestanding Emergency Center. Being “freestanding” means that this 15,000 square-foot facility is not attached to a hospital. Otherwise, it is just like a traditional Emergency Center. It is open 24/7 and offers easy access and convenience to patients. Those needing surgery or inpatient care will be transferred at no additional cost by ambulance to St. Joseph Regional Health Center (SJRHC) in Bryan or to the most appropriate facility to continue their treatment.
In its first six months of operations, the new emergency center has maintained patient waiting times of less than 10 minutes. “Many of our patients can’t believe how quickly they are seen and cared for,” said Beverly Welch, RN, Director of Emergency Services at SJRHC. “Our customer satisfaction has been exceptional.” The Emergency Center nursing staff calls every patient the day after their visit to make sure they are doing well.
This new location is an extension of the Emergency Center at St. Joseph Regional Health Center (SJRHC). It is staffed entirely with board certified and board eligible Emergency Medicine physician. It does not use mid-level providers to care for emergency center patients.
In the first six months of operation, the Center has cared for patients with serious illnesses, such as chest pain and stroke. “SJRHC ranks in the top 10 percent of Chest Pain Centers across the country in getting heart attack patients in to an interventional procedure within 90 minutes,” said Welch. “The new Emergency Center in College Station is committed to keeping that standard of care for heart attack and stroke patients through rapid assessment and transport of potential stroke and chest pain patients.”