St. Peter's Emergency Department is a Level III Trauma facility serving the community with 12 rooms. It is fully staffed 24 hours-a-day with registered nurses and six full-time emergency room physicians. St. Peter's Hospital contracts with Lewis and Clark Emergency Physicians (LCEP) to provide emergency service physicians.  They are: Dr. Carter, Dr. Gallea, Dr. Kuntzweiler, Dr. Rabold, and Dr. Silk.

St. Peter's Hospital ER handles minor and major emergencies with more than 18,000 visits per year. Computerized medical records allow instant access to needed records. Our computers are web enabled allowing medical searches and use of the Poisondex toxicology database to manage complex cases. Physicians are now using bedside ultrasound to speed diagnosis and treatment, digital radiography and a paperless charting system.

Ambulance Services

St. Peter's Ambulance Service is an Advanced Life Support provider at the paramedic level. All Medical Technicians are National and Montana State certified. St. Peter's Ambulance Service provides 24 hour-a-day dedicated 911 service for all of Lewis & Clark County. On-line medical direction is provided by the physician on duty. St. Peter's Ambulance Service Medical Director is Dr. Andrew Michel and Ambulance Service Manager is Don Wells.

For more information please contact:
Don Wells at 447-2500 or
email - dwells@stpetes.org

Upon entering the Emergency Department waiting area patients are greeted and informed of the registration process.

The First Step...
Triage is a term used to describe how patients are placed into a particular group or level according to the urgency of their illness or injury.

• The first person you see will be the triage nurse.
  
• This person assesses the condition before registration and assists until the Physician or Physician’s Assistant is available.
  
• The most seriously injured or ill is treated first. This may be the reason that you see others taken into the ER before you are.
  
• Patients who may appear to have less serious illnesses or injuries may be taken into the ER before you are, based on their level of triage.
  

Levels of Triage:
Level 1. Patients who need immediate treatment. These patients have extremely serious injuries or illnesses and might die if they are not treated right away. Some examples include: cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, unresponsive to stimulation, trauma, and multiple injuries.

Level 2. Patients who need very urgent treatment. These patients have severe injuries or illnesses or might become worse or suffer long-term problems if they do not receive very quick treatment. For example: heart attacks, strokes, severe bleeding, severe fractures, decreased level of consciousness, chemical splash to the eyes, toxic ingestion, severe pain, severe breathing issues, and psychiatric emergencies.

Level 3. Patients who need urgent treatment. These patients have a serious medical condition, but not an immediately life-threatening injury or illness.For example: thigh or leg fractures, moderate asthma, uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, and high fevers that do not respond to Tylenol or Motrin.

Level 4. Patients who do not need urgent treatment. These patients will not get worse if they have to wait for treatment. For example: sprains and strains, simple cuts, and most ankle or arm fractures.

Level 5. Patients who need the skills of our staff, but do not need urgent treatment. These are patients with long-term problems including second opinions, coughs, and colds.

Urgent Care patients presenting to the department have appropriate illnesses or minor injuries to be treated by an Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner or Physician’s Assistant. Urgent Care staff offer high quality, walk-in medical care for minor illnesses, physicals, and return to work releases with all the backup resources of the Imaging and Laboratory Departments.

If a condition worsens or the staff determine a higher level of medical treatment is needed, a patient may be moved into the Emergency Room for treatment.

Lab and X-Ray/CT tests take time. It usually takes an hour to complete Lab work, X-Rays, or CT results.

Registration
ER and Urgent Care registration staff record your information at their desk/window. Signatures authorizing treatment, payment, and financial responsibility will be obtained by this staff. In cases where patients arrive by ambulance, staff will come to the bedside. Registration is an important step that helps make everything run smoothly.

Your Opinion Counts
St. Peter’s uses your feedback to recognize employees for providing excellent care, and to improve services to you. It is our commitment to provide high level service. You may be receiving a survey in the mail asking about your care at St. Peter’s Hospital. If you do, please fill it out and return it in the postage-paid envelope.