North Shore Health Provides Continuous Emergency Department Service for Cook County
The North Shore Health (NSH) Board and management would like to share information with our community about our Emergency Department (ED): its history, staffing, services, functionality, availability and more. Please read on.
NSH has offered ED services since opening in 1958. At that time, the facility was called Cook County North Shore Hospital. Numerous improvements and expansions have occurred since then; Care Center wings were added in the 60s and 90s, and we became a Hospital District in 1990. Physicians with Wapiti Medical Staffing had provided intermittent ED coverage since 2004. In January of 2008, NSH contracted with Wapiti Medical Staffing to ensure ongoing and dependable provision of 24/7 ED physicians. This allowed the local physicians to focus their time with clinic patients. This mutually beneficial relationship between NSH and Wapiti Medical Staffing continues today. As a result, NSH has steadfastly provided uninterrupted, expert ED service before, during and since the pandemic.
What some may not know is that the NSH ED is continually staffed by many on-site physicians, plus telemedicine hospitalists. Currently, we have 19 physicians who rotate to NSH. All of the physicians are Board certified in Family Medicine or Emergency Medicine and maintain certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) or Comprehensive Advanced Life Support (CALS). This staffing model is common practice at rural hospitals around Minnesota and throughout the country. One of our physicians began practice at NSH in 2004, and another in 2005. Both remain as part of our rotation today. Supporting this longevity and continuity, Dr. Jerry Bartleson’s son, Dr. Paul Bartleson joined our rotation in 2022.
The NSH ED has also benefitted from the oversight of medical directors. Currently, Ameen Taleb, M.D. is the NSH ED Medical Director. In addition to his many leadership appointments, board certifications and awards, Dr. Taleb is an Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program Director at SSM Health Monroe Hospital, WI.
These experienced physicians are trained to respond to medical emergencies with speed, competence and compassion. A team of highly trained nurses supports them. Our Nursing staff is also certified in ACLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP. They have training in trauma and advanced cardiac emergencies to help maintain their readiness to respond to these conditions.
NSH on-site Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory services are available to ED patients 24/7 to assist attending physicians with determining a diagnosis.
Additionally, NSH has access to the Avel Emergency Response Service, a virtual specialist consultation and support service that is accessed with the push of a button. This enhances our capabilities and assists with everything from specialist consults, interpreter services and behavioral health assessments to medical scribing services and emergency transport activation.
The NSH ED treats all types of injuries and medical conditions round the clock, including broken bones, automobile accidents, work-related accidents, cardiac arrests, seizures, and hypothermia to name just a few reasons we see people in the ED. Support is provided for the NSH Ambulance services and other EMS and first responder rescues. We utilize LifeLink helicopter services for cases that require immediate long distance emergency transport to other facilities.
When a patient comes into the NSH ED via ambulance or they arrive independently on-site (front entrance walk-in or ED drive-in at the rear of our facility), they can expect responsive, thorough care. A brief assessment of the patient is conducted to determine the seriousness of the problem. We always take care of those with the most serious situation first and strive to provide timely care when there are many patients waiting to be seen. Our ED consists of four private patient bays, including two specialized trauma bays. The ED physician will determine whether your condition requires transfer to a higher level of care, treatment in our hospital, or if you can be discharged to home with medications if needed and recommendations for additional follow-up with your primary care clinic or other outpatient specialist.
NSH ED promises to provide continuous round-the-clock professional medical emergency expertise for our community now and in the future.
For more information on NSH emergency department services contact our Hospital Director of Nursing at 218-387-3795 or visit www.northshorehealthgm.org/emergency-medicine.
Stay tuned for additional informative articles in our “Getting to Know North Shore Health” series.