Chi Mei Medical Center is dedicated to providing first-rate emergency services to the inhabitants of southern Taiwan. As our chairman promised, “What others are not willing to do, we shall accomplish.”
Chi Mei ER
In 1992, medicine and surgery board-certified physicians were recruited to provide first line medical services in our emergency department (ED). This arrangement started a nationwide trend of staffing full-time physicians in the emergency room. Chi Mei Emergency Medicine Department was established in July 1995 with board-certified emergency physicians providing 24-hour medical care to our patients.
Our current emergency department staff consists of nearly sixty physicians, with at least six physicians on duty per shift and up to eight doctors on duty during the day and evening shifts. To ensure the quality of medical care while ensuring our patients’ rights, board-certified attending physicians provide first-line care in the emergency department 24-hours a day. Subspecialty consultation with obstetrics and gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, ophthalmology, and dentistry physicians are also available at all times.
In 1996, the emergency department was relocated from what is now the dentistry department to our current location in the emergency building. Our ED was designed to run like a small hospital, equipped with a specialized resuscitation room, trauma and medicine areas, an operating theater, a pediatric clinic area, observation rooms, and emergency radiology suites with CT, dedicated laboratories and a pharmacy. In addition, an intensive care ambulance and proprietary drivers provide professional transfer services when needed.
With our blossoming reputation, the number of emergency room visits has grown from 6,000 to 10,000 monthly visits in recent years causing issues of space inadequacy. Our ED was thus re-expanded in 2010 with an additional 550 square meters of space for an enlarged pediatric section and a second observation area providing up to 76 observation beds.
Chi Mei ER Liouying
The Liouying branch of Chi Mei Hospital is located in the northern part of the Greater Tainan region. Since 2004, board-certified emergency physicians with complete training in emergency medicine have been employed 24-hours a day in the ER to administer thorough and high quality care.
Our department currently consists of 12 doctors, of whom at least two are on duty each day. On weekdays and evenings, two to four attending physicians are on duty to provide first line medical services with one more physician added on weekends to enhance our quality of care and to ensure our patients’ rights. Obstetricians and gynecologists, surgeons, internal medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, dentists, and critical care physicians are also available daily for subspecialty consultations.
Our ER is operated similar to a scaled-down hospital with areas designated to specific ailments: trauma bay, non-trauma bay, resuscitation bay, observation bay, operation theatre, pediatric care zone, pediatric observation bay, pharmacy, and emergency imaging unit equipped with a tomography scanner. Also available are intensive care ambulances with propriety drivers for transfer services when needed.
With the increasing number of patient visits from approximately 3,000 visits per month to 5,500 visits per month, our emergency department is naturally the most adept critical care hospital for the people of northern Tainan area. Since the completion of our ER renovation and expansion since July 2013, we have been providing a more comfortable and efficient emergency room service.
Chi Mei ER Chiali
The Emergency Department of the Chiali branch of Chi Mei Hospital currently constitutes of five full-time board-certified emergency physicians. There is at least one attending physician on duty 24-hours a day with additional doctors weekdays and evenings as well as weekends to enhance our quality of care and to ensure our patients’ rights. Surgeons, internal medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, and critical care physicians are also available daily for subspecialty consultations and admissions as needed.
The ER location is on the first floor of the main building. Our ER is operated similar to a scaled-down hospital with areas designated to specific ailments: triage zone, immediate care bay, resuscitation bay, observation bay, a mobile emergency ultrasound, and an emergency imaging unit equipped with a tomography scanner. Our data and information are fully computerized and linked up to our other Chi Mei Hospital branches, offering quick and efficient means to patient information and other resources. To help prevent emergency department violence, security guards are stationed full time in our ER, offering a safe environment for both our patients and our medical staff.
With our blossoming reputation, the number of monthly emergency room visits has grown from 1,500 to 3,000 visits, causing issues of space inadequacy. With the new medical building under construction, our emergency department will expand and remodel in hopes to provide more comfortable areas and spaces, improved patient and work flow, upgraded and increased supplies and equipments, and additional medical staff for a better and more efficient emergency department.
The Emergency Department of Chi Mei Hospital is one of the most important training hospitals for emergency medicine in Taiwan. Emergency physicians who completed their training from our ED are well acclaimed throughout Taiwan and are often sought after by many hospitals nationwide. Since the establishment of the Chiali branch, the Chi Mei medical foundation has become more complete having an array of hospitals from district hospital (Chiali branch), to regional hospital (Liouying branch), and to medical centre, thus further advancing the Chi Mei hospital system an ideal emergency medicine training hospital.
The Chi Mei reputation for quality of care in critical and intensive medicine also delivered a steady rise in ER visits at our Chiali branch. The number of patient transfers from other hospitals has also increased as patients from other districts seek the expertise of our doctors. Chiali Chi Mei hospital has become a dependable health institution for the people of Tainan’s coastal townships.