Emergency Medicine (Trauma)

Sexual assault victims are cared for by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) who has completed special education and clinical preparation to provide expert healthcare services and forensic care. SANE nurses provide many services, including: assessing and treating trauma response and injury, collecting and managing evidence, documenting information, and providing medication as well as emotional support.

While there is no typical visit to the Emergency Department, you'll likely spend time in the waiting room, register for your visit, talk with a provider in an exam space to form a treatment plan and get diagnostic tests as needed. If you are unconscious, the care team will give you the care they feel is required. If warranted, you will be transferred via ambulance or helicopter to a facility that can provide the care you need.

If possible, bring your current prescription information.

The appointment length depends on your specific medical situation or concern and the quantity of patients being cared for. Patients with more emergent needs will receive care first.

Being a primary stroke center means we follow the best practices for stroke care to quickly and correctly treat stroke patients. Our multidisciplinary team of specialists, including emergency physicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, technicians and more, work together to significantly improve your outcome after a stroke.

In telestroke at Mayo Clinic, your local provider and the vascular neurologist trained in blood vessel conditions provide care in your local community and may be able to avoid the need for transfer to another medical center.

Telestroke operates on a hub-and-spoke system. Mayo Clinic hospitals serve as the primary medical center, or the hubs, and affiliated hospitals in Mayo Clinic Health System, Mayo Clinic Care Network and beyond serve as the spokes. In telestroke, a vascular neurologist at the hub location consults with providers and patients who have acute strokes at the remote sites, or spokes.

In telestroke, many people work together as a team, including a program manager, clinical coordinator, vascular neurologists, neurosurgeons and radiologists at the hub site, and emergency medicine doctors and other staff at the spoke site. Radiology technicians, informational technology staff, nurses, nurse practitioners and other staff also are important members of the telestroke team.

In a telestroke consultation, an emergency medicine provider at your hospital (the spoke) will examine you. If the local provider suspects an acute stroke, they will activate the telestroke hotline at Mayo Clinic to connect with a vascular neurologist for emergent consultation. The neurologist usually responds within just a few minutes.

After you have a CT scan at your hospital, the neurologist at Mayo Clinic performs a live, real-time audiovisual consultation. The neurologist may discuss your medical history and review your test results. They will evaluate you, review the CT scan remotely, work with your local provider to determine the most appropriate treatment and send the treatment recommendation electronically back to the your hospital.

Having a prompt evaluation increases the possibility that clot-dissolving therapies called thrombolytics can be delivered in time to reduce stroke-related disability. To be effective, clot-dissolving therapies must be given as soon as possible after onset of symptoms. There may be other advanced therapies that can be recommended by the stroke specialist.

Telestroke offers several benefits, including:

• Expertise and experience
  Stroke hospital physicians work with Mayo Clinic neurologists who have expertise and experience in evaluating and treating people who have had a stroke or have other brain and blood vessel conditions, also called cerebrovascular conditions. Mayo Clinic's campuses in Arizona and Florida are certified as stroke centers by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Eau Claire and La Crosse, Wisconsin, are certified as stroke centers by The Joint Commission, a national organization that evaluates and accredits healthcare providers.
• Team approach
  At Mayo Clinic hub hospitals, a dedicated staff of neurologists trained in blood vessel conditions, or vascular neurologists; brain surgery, or neurosurgeons; brain imaging, or neuroradiologists; and telestroke work as a team with spoke hospital doctors and other providers at community hospitals.
• Individualized care
  Mayo Clinic Health System telestroke staff give you individualized care and serve you in your community.
• Technology
  Vascular neurologists at Mayo Clinic use several advanced technologies in telestroke, depending on your hospital's location and available resources.
• Research
  Mayo Clinic physicians are actively studying stroke and telestroke, including the most advanced treatments for stroke, new technologies and other aspects of stroke care.
• Answers you can trust
  We assemble a team of specialists who take the time to listen and thoroughly understand your health issues and concerns. We tailor the care you receive to your personal healthcare needs. You can trust our specialists to collaborate and offer you the best possible outcomes, safety and service. Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean healthcare — and trusted answers — like they've never experienced.

A Level II trauma center, verified by the American College of Surgeons, provides 24/7 advanced care for serious and life-threatening injuries, with trauma surgeons and specialty teams available to treat complex trauma cases.

A Level II trauma center, verified by the American College of Surgeons, provides 24/7 advanced care for serious and life-threatening injuries, with trauma surgeons and specialty teams available to treat complex trauma cases.

A Level IV trauma center, designated under standards from the American College of Surgeons, provides initial evaluation, stabilization and emergency care for injured patients. These hospitals play an important role in rural and community settings by delivering rapid treatment and coordinating transfer to higher-level trauma centers when more specialized care is needed.

Stop the Bleed is a nationwide campaign to empower people to act quickly and assist people with massive or uncontrolled bleeding until professional responders arrive.

Our Patient Account Services representatives can assist you with any issues related to billing and insurance. We also offer financial assistance if you are unable to pay for care due to financial hardship.

In necessary, we will recommend that you follow up with your primary care provider or see a specialist.

Always call 911 in case of an emergency. For after-hours help with other issues, get virtual care 24/7 through the Primary Care On Demand app or review our convenient care options.