Please remember that staffing is still a significant challenge for Ochsner and healthcare systems around the country. If you do not need emergency medical care, please visit /testing for testing locations, where you will be billed only for testing, not an emergency room visit. A freestanding emergency room has all the benefits of a hospital based emergency room. A positive at-home test does not need to be confirmed in an Ochsner emergency room, and a visit to the emergency department will result in an emergency department bill, which is far more expensive than an at-home COVID-19 test. Please use at-home tests or community testing sites to seek COVID-19 tests, and the COVID-19 Self Care and Symptom Monitoring Program if possible. (Never drive yourself if you feel weak or dizzy or experience chest pain or other extreme pain. Go to an emergency room, whether by private vehicle or ambulance. As a community, we need to ensure the people who need Ochsner’s care can receive it. The urgent care center, a relatively new phenomenon, is a less-expensive alternative to emergency rooms for patients who need immediate care for conditions that are not life-threatening. Using the emergency department for care other than emergencies takes precious resources away from patients in need of lifesaving care. Emergency departments in the Sutter Health network have strict safety precautions in. The emergency department is a place for true emergencies, such as difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, severe accidents, heart attacks, strokes, gunshots and other major wounds. Please do not visit emergency departments if you are asymptomatic or mildly sick or are only seeking a COVID-19 test. The Emergency Department (emergency care/emergency room) entrance is at the intersection of Spring Street and Terry Avenue.
Our emergency departments are seeing record volume with extraordinarily long waits. The emergency rooms entrance is on Lombard Street between Greene and Penn Streets. Please do not visit emergency departments unless you have medical needs that warrant emergency care. University of Maryland Medical Center ER.