Enhanced safety protections

Never delay care, during the global pandemic or otherwise, to avoid a trip to the emergency room. Specific symptoms, including those of heart attack or stroke, require professional medical evaluation and timely treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications or worse. Our emergency rooms have introduced enhanced precautions to ensure a safe environment for all involved. We are here for you and we are well-equipped to handle any health concern you may have.

Learn more about enhanced safety protections

Plantation emergency room

Plantation General Hospital has been providing convenient access to expedited emergency care for patients for more than 50 years. We proudly service members of the greater Plantation community, including people in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. Our emergency room (ER) is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is always prepared to provide life-saving care.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 immediately. For questions about our emergency medicine services, please call our Consult-A-Nurse® team at (954) 321-4099.

What to expect at the ER

Upon arrival to the ER, a triage nurse will assess your symptoms and vital signs. Next, a registration clerk will gather your insurance and relevant medical information. We medically screen, evaluate and stabilize all patients whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay.

Incoming patients with severe, life-threatening illnesses or injuries will be treated first. All other patients will be treated in the order they arrived.

Before discharge, be sure to ask any questions and keep all paperwork, discharge information and medicines you have received. Our ER staff will contact your primary care provider for updates to your medical record.

What to bring to the ER

When coming to the ER, it is recommended to bring:

  • List of medicines you currently take
  • List of known allergies
  • Copy of results from recent medical tests, if available
  • Personal care preferences and restrictions
  • A responsible adult or phone number for someone to contact

Experienced emergency care

We are proud to be certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center and to be accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR) in computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine and ultrasound. These accomplishments mean our staff is nationally recognized for providing fast, expert care to all our patients.

Our medical staff is able to quickly determine the level of care you need, order medications and begin lifesaving intervention. We also use digital imaging tools, such as ultrasound, MRI and CT scans.

When specialists are needed, Plantation General Hospital can coordinate with physicians in every field of medical care. Our facility provides easy access to the vast resources of the HCA Healthcare network.

Pediatric emergency room

In addition to our main ER, our hospital is also home to a pediatric emergency room. Our pediatric ER provides the specialized emergency care children need while offering a comforting, supportive environment. If your child should require further care following their ER visit, we offer complete pediatric services, including an on-site pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

The pediatric ER at our hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The emergency physicians care for children from infancy all the way through adolescence and teenage years.

Specialty care for hand injuries

We offer specialty care for patients arriving in our ER with urgent hand injuries. Our hand specialists are onsite 24/7 offering fast access to limb-saving, emergency hand surgery. We treat the following hand injuries in our ER:

  • Crushing
  • Amputations
  • Fractures
  • Lacerations

When to go to the ER

Sometimes it's difficult to determine which level of care you need, such as whether you should go to the ER or wait for your doctor's office to open. Knowing where to go when you need immediate care can be life-saving. Plantation General Hospital’s ER is open 24/7 to treat all types of emergency medical conditions.

Almost all symptoms can range in severity. Below is a list of symptoms that may indicate you need to visit the ER:

  • Back pain: When it is unbearable or accompanied by fever, numbness, weakness, confusion, slurred speech, vision loss or loss of control over bladder or bowels
  • Broken bones: When the pain is severe or there is a visible deformity or bone bulging through the skin
  • Chest pain: When it is crushing or squeezing and accompanied by other heart attack symptoms, such as shortness of breath or nausea
  • Concussion: When you have lost consciousness, even briefly, or experience amnesia, vomiting, slurred speech or a seizure
  • Flu: When symptoms become severe, such as having trouble breathing, vomiting uncontrollably, becoming dehydrated or developing pneumonia
  • Side pain: When you have severe pain in the lower right stomach, side or back or have side pain in addition to fever, nausea, diarrhea or blood in the urine
  • Stomach pain: When you experience pain in addition to a hard or tender stomach, nausea, shortness of breath, fever or irregular heartbeat
  • Stroke: Always call 911 immediately if stroke symptoms are present, such as sudden numbness (specifically on one side of the body), confusion, dizziness and sudden severe headache
  • Trouble breathing: When breathing stops, is noisy or high-pitched and comes with pain in the chest or severe shortness of breath

If you are unsure if your symptoms require an ER visit, call our Consult-A-Nurse® team at (954) 321-4099.