HEALTHYU

UCHealth Emergency Room will include 24/7 lab, pharmacy

KATI BLOCKER, UCHEALTH
UCHealth phlebotomist Brenton Carroll works in the Harmony
Campus lab that will soon be relocated to the new UCHealth
Emergency Room, about one block east of the lab’s current location.

With 24/7 services that extend beyond just an emergency room, UCHealth's new freestanding ER is committed to filling unmet community needs in south Fort Collins.

The UCHealth Emergency Room, opening in late October at 4630 Snow Mesa Drive, will not only provide patients access to board-certified doctors but also pharmacy and laboratory services around the clock, seven days a week.

"We are giving a lot of options to the community to take control of their own health care with this new facility," said Robert Mitchell, director of laboratory services for UCHealth in northern Colorado.

24/7 outpatient pharmacy

Very few outpatient pharmacies operate 24 hours a day, said Andrew Harmon, pharmacy manager for emergency services of UCHealth in northern Colorado. "It's a community resource that's been missing and very much needed. It will be a great convenience for patients seen at the new ER because they will get a full circle of treatment from arrival to discharge, and it will be available to everyone, including patients of urgent care, the Cancer Center and other Harmony Campus visitors, as well as our own employees."

A 24-hour pharmacy means a pharmacist will be there 24/7, a great resource for ER patients,"Harmon added.

"This is an interdisciplinary approach to care," he said. "We (pharmacists) are bedside with the other health care providers, so patients can ask questions right away and we can provide discharge counseling. We will be there to give patients extra information that the doc might not have time to provide. This clinical service helps to prevent hospitalizations and return visits to the ER for the same complaint."

24/7 laboratory services

"We are taking advantage of the fact that we (laboratory services) are there to provide 24/7 services to the ER and utilizing our staffing to extend those services to the community," Mitchell said.

Shift workers, whose work schedules make it hard for them to get to a lab during regular business hours, will have a new option that works with their schedules. Community caregivers will be able to provide health care services, such as identifying and treating sore throats or a urinary tract infection, without having to send their patients to the ER. The lab can do that testing and provide the results at the time of visit, Mitchell said.

Law enforcement agencies and employers will have a new around-the-clock option for secure blood draws for possible DUI or worker's compensation cases, he added. In addition, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program — which is expanding from Medical Center of Rockies to the new ER — will have immediate access to the lab. SANE provides 24/7 help
to sexual-assault victims by providing resources and a medical exam to treat injuries, test for pregnancy and address sexually transmitted diseases, and collect forensic evidence.

UCHealth phlebotomist Pam McFarland, right, hands off a sample to medical laboratory scientist Tiffany Ward at the Harmony Campus Lab.
The lab will be relocated to the new UCHealth Emergency Room facility down the street in late October.

The transition

The lab on the Harmony Campus will relocate to the new ER on Snow Mesa Drive and begin 24/7 coverage on Oct. 28. In the meantime, the lab will continue its regular hours — 6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Emergent vs. urgent

UCHealth Urgent Care on the Harmony Campus will continue to be open 8 a.m.- 7 p.m., seven days a week.

"Our urgent care will continue to be a great place to go for minor bumps and bruises," said Alyssa Stroup, clinical director for UCHealth's ERs in northern Colorado. "But now, just up the road will be a full-capability ER to meet those more serious needs."

Patients should go to urgent care for things like animal bites, headaches, lacerations requiring a few stitches, minor burns, sprains, strains or possible broken bones, sore throats, coughs, ear infections, fever, flu symptoms and worker's compensation injuries.

The new ER will be the better choice for patients who have complex fractures or bones protruding through the skin, head injuries or a sudden, very severe headaches or loss of vision, intoxication, overdose or attempted suicide, serious lacerations, severe bleeding or poisoning.

People should always call 911 if they are experiencing chest pain or other heart attack symptoms. The new ER will be receiving ambulances.

TEDDY BEAR HOSPITAL

WHAT: UCHealth Emergency Room will be hosting a Teddy Bear Hospital event as a way for children and families to get familiar and comfortable with an emergency room environment without the fear of being in a real emergency. Children are invited to bring their favorite teddy bear, doll or stuffed animal to the event to see what happens during a visit to an emergency room and learn more about their health.
WHEN: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 24.
WHERE: UCHealth Emergency Room, 4630 Snow Mesa Drive, Fort Collins.