Nov. 17, 2005 Direct communication from one emergency room to the next expedites the transfer of critical patients St. Paul, Minn., Physicians from area hospitals can now call in on a dedicated phone line to talk directly to emergency room physicians at Regions Hospital. The Regions emergency department developed an "ER STAT Line" hotline over the past year in cooperation with three area hospitals - Fairview Lakes Region, Hudson Hospital and St. Croix Regional Medical Center. When a physician at a referral or community hospital needs to transfer a critical patient to Regions, they can dial a hotline number or, for some hospitals, simply lift the receiver of the "Regions ER STAT" phone in their emergency department that automatically dials into Regions ER. These calls, which involve critically ill patients, including those treated for burn, stroke, cardiac and other medical needs, are treated as a top priority and the caller is connected with an ER physician within one minute. More than 200 calls involving critically ill patients have been fielded on the new ER STAT Line since it was expanded earlier this year. In fact, there were 38 calls made in September alone. The program now includes 10 hospitals and cities throughout the east metro and Western Wisconsin, including Amery Medical Center, Baldwin Hospital, Fairview Lakes Region, Fairview Red Wing, Holy Family Hospital, Hudson Hospital, Osceola Medical Center, Regina Medical Center, River Falls Hospital and St. Croix Regional Medical Center. "The ER STAT Line connects the transferring and receiving doctors together in a manner that is safe, timely, efficient and patient-centered," says Brent Asplin, M.D., head of the Regions emergency department, who developed the idea for an inter-hospital hotline after identifying the need for a single reliable number for ER physicians from different hospitals to communicate. "The hard work and dedication of the ER clerks, the telecommunications department and the ER doctors have helped us develop this program into a very successful and important tool." Regions Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a premier, full-service, private hospital providing outstanding medical and surgical care with special programs in heart, women's care, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, burn and emergency care. The hospital is part of the HealthPartners family of health care organizations. Additional information is available at www.regionshospital.com.
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