Thursday, May 6, 2010

Beyond The ER Hassle

Teams of USC nurses are now evaluating and treating after-hours patients,or those who otherwise need prompt and sophisticated outpatient services,at the Evaluation and Treatment Center in USC University Hospital.The teams consist of an RN and a Licensed Vocational Nurse-formerly called LPNs.The patients are referred by USC physicians,typically Keck School of Medicine professors,who may meet their patients at the facility.The ETC will soon be a year old.
The 20 full-time nurses who staff the ETC are from critical or urgent care backgrounds.Skilled in disciplines from cardiovascular to oncology,they are treating 100-120 patients a month,broadening and deepening their expertise as they encounter a wide range of cases.The ETC is especially helpful to post-operative patients.
No walk-ins are accepted,and only private patients are seen at the ETC.Expansion plans are already being drawn up for the facility,which averts the stress of emergency room visits and insures continuity of care.

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