Erlanger Western Carolina Emergency Room

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department.

We deeply care about the privacy and comfort of the more than 14,000 patients who find themselves in our ER each year. Minor incidents to life-threatening scenarios are attended to by an exceptional team of providers ready and able to receive you.

We understand uncertainty and anxiety come with the territory of an emergency situation. Our team is trained to handle the unexpected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our goal is to expedite the assessment process by having each patient triaged by a nurse within 30 minutes of arrival.

Upon arrival, patients are escorted to a treatment area where experienced staff work together to assess patient needs and implement rapid action when it counts.

We’ve grown to accommodate patients in 14 designated treatment areas within our Emergency Department. The emergency services team is comprised of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, paramedics, and patient care technicians, and support care providers around the clock.

We have the ability to stabilize and transfer patients to other facilities via ambulance or air support. Air ambulances give us the capability of transporting patients to Chattanooga, Atlanta, Knoxville, and Asheville in the instance a critical emergency requires specialty services not available at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital. Each air ambulance is fully-equipped with life support systems during transition.

Attentive staff is available to family and friends in the waiting area to answer questions and ease the flow of communication between patients and their loved ones.

We Offer Telepsychiatry and Teletherapy  for Acute Behavioral Health Conditions — at No Cost

Our Emergency Department is pleased to offer the following telehealth-based services for any patient experiencing an acute behavioral health crisis such as anxiety, depression, or stress — regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. 

• Telepsychiatric and teletherapy services. This puts patients at our facility in touch with highly qualified and compassionate psychiatric providers via video teleconferencing equipment. These licensed and credentialed providers offer a range of assessment, care and therapy services.
• Critical follow-up care coordination. After discharge, we also offer vital care coordination to help ensure patients have access to additional behavioral health treatment resources. We are the first hospital in North Carolina to offer this important follow-up service.

Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital offers these mental health services through the N.C. Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP). If interested in telepsychiatry care, please advise a member of the emergency staff. 

Teleneurology Care

Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital also offers teleneurology treatment, enabling the staff to have immediate access to board certified neurologists at the touch of a button. This service helps guide the ED providers on best practices of stroke care and other neurological emergencies.