Emergency care

From the minute you arrive at a Medical City Healthcare ER, you can expect quality care. Medical City Healthcare is a recognized industry leader in efficiency and patient experience. Our hospital ERs and full-service off-campus emergency rooms across North Texas offer:

• Emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
• Board-certified emergency medicine physicians
• Full-service pediatric emergency care, diagnosis and treatment for infants and children
• Private treatment rooms
• Specially trained staff and technicians
• Non-opioid, safe pain medications whenever possible to reduce substance abuse
• The support of a comprehensive healthcare network to handle any emergency

If you or a loved one is experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 immediately.

• Medical City Alliance
• Medical City Argyle
• Medical City Arlington
• Medical City Children’s Hospital
• Medical City Dallas
• Medical City Decatur
• Medical City Denton
• Medical City Fort Worth
• Medical City Frisco
• Medical City Las Colinas
• Medical City Lewisville
• Medical City McKinney
• Medical City North Hills
• Medical City Plano
• Medical City Sachse
• Medical City Weatherford

In addition to our main hospital emergency rooms, we have eight free-standing Medical City Healthcare ERs located across North Texas to provide the care you need, close to home.

• Medical City ER Argyle
• Medical City ER Garland
• Medical City ER Grand Prairie
• Medical City ER Haslet
• Medical City ER Red Oak
• Medical City ER Saginaw
• Medical City ER Stonebridge
• Medical City ER White Settlement

Medical City Healthcare offers full-service emergency care, diagnosis and treatment for infants and children of all ages. It's like having the pediatric emergency care of Medical City Children's Hospital in your neighborhood — so you don't have to go to a children's hospital to find expert pediatric ER care close to home. Specially trained physicians provide the highest quality healthcare according to guidelines for care set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association.

In accordance with the National Pediatric Readiness Project, Medical City Healthcare ERs have been equipped to ensure they meet essential guidelines and have resources in place to provide a safe and family-centered emergency experience.

• Medical City Alliance
• Medical City Arlington
• Medical City Dallas
• Medical City Decatur
• Medical City Denton
• Medical City Fort Worth
• Medical City Frisco
• Medical City Las Colinas
• Medical City Lewisville
• Medical City McKinney
• Medical City North Hills
• Medical City Plano
• Medical City Sachse
• Medical City Weatherford

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Accidents
• Acid reflux
• Allergic reactions
• Appendicitis
• Chest pain
• Cold or flu
• Concussion
• Diverticulitis
• Fever
• Food poisoning
• Gallstones
• Hernia
• Indigestion
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Poisonings
• Serious burns
• Sexual assault
• Stomach pain
• Stomach virus
• Stroke

• Body numbness, tingling or weakness
• Breathing troubles
• Broken bones
• Dangerous or toxic ingestion
• Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
• High fever
• Serious head injuries

When someone you love is sick or injured, it’s sometimes hard to know what to do. Planning ahead and knowing your care choices will make it easier when you’re faced with an emergency.

Seek emergency care at your closest ER for severe, non-life-threatening injuries and illness, including:

Severe shortness of breath—caused by asthma, allergies, colds, flu, pneumonia, chronic health conditions such as COPD or heart disease—is a medical emergency. Call 911 if you think the condition is life-threatening. Otherwise, seek immediate treatment at the closest ER.

The extent of injuries from falls, sports, chores or just plain living are often hard to diagnose without an X-ray and a medical exam. Sometimes, you’ll be able to tell that a bone is obviously fractured, but most often you’ll need a medical professional for a correct diagnosis. Soft tissue injuries can pose problems, too, if left untreated.

Lower back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, with 31 million Americans suffering from this condition at any given time. With the exception of back pain caused by a traumatic injury, most back pain doesn’t require emergency treatment. However, there are times when your back pain symptoms are indicative of another illness—such as kidney stones or kidney infections—which may require a trip to the ER.

Very rarely does a heart attack begin with dramatic symptoms. Most people having a heart attack don't realize it. That's because the vast majority of heart attacks happen slowly with just discomfort or mild pain. Patients often aren't sure what's wrong and don't get help soon enough.

Head injuries are a common complaint in the ER and require a quick evaluation and a CT scan to rule out a surgical emergency such as bleeding on the brain.

Most people who come down with the flu will recover within one to two weeks, but some people will develop more serious illnesses. Adults 65 years old and older, pregnant women, children five years old and younger, infants and patients with certain conditions, like chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD), may experience more complications from the flu than usual. These complications can sometimes result in life-threatening issues, such as pneumonia or bronchitis. If you or a loved one is experiencing severe flu symptoms, visit your nearest ER.

Fevers are a normal reaction when the body is fighting infection, however, a high fever that doesn’t go away with medication or is accompanied by other symptoms needs to be checked out. In fact, often the absolute number on the thermometer isn't as important as how the patient is acting and whether or not there are accompanying symptoms, such as severe headache or stomach pain, confusion, trouble breathing, stiff neck or vomiting and diarrhea.

If there are no other symptoms, here’s when to seek medical help for a high fever:

• Infants under 3 months old–100.4ºF or higher
• Children 3 months to 3 years old–102.2ºF or higher
• Children 3 to 17 years old–102ºF for two or more days
• Adults 18 years old and older–102ºF for more than three days or 104ºF or higher

Stomach pain is one of the leading reasons both adults and children go to the ER. Though abdominal pain can sometimes be minor and temporary, some instances of stomach pain may be symptoms of serious medical conditions. Gastrointestinal care is available at our ERs.

Receiving immediate stroke care is imperative for the best outcomes possible. It is not always clear if someone is experiencing symptoms of a stroke.

If you're unsure, remember to think F.A.S.T.:

• F = Face drooping
• A = Arm weakness
• S = Speech difficulty
• T = Time to call 911

Some ways to maximize the time you spend in the ER include:

• Be in the right place. Make sure the ER is the right care choice for your symptoms. There are conditions best treated at your doctor's office or at an urgent care center—but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
• Be prepared. Keep a list of all your medications on your phone or somewhere easily accessible.
• Be honest and thorough. You can impede or delay a proper diagnosis and treatment by giving inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Be patient and polite, but don’t be afraid to speak up. If you think you’ve been waiting too long, have been forgotten or are just unsure of what’s going on, don’t wait to say something.

Why call 911? No matter how fast you think you can drive to the closest ER, first-responders can probably get to you faster. They also have the advantage of lights and sirens to cut through traffic and start lifesaving treatment right away. Calling 911 also ensures you are routed to the appropriate hospital for effective treatment, like a trauma center or certified stroke center.

When you or a loved one is experiencing life-threatening symptoms that may result in death or disability without immediate care, call 911. For moderate and manageable symptoms, you can have someone drive you to the ER.