Emergency Room Support Services

Outpatients:

All patients that present to Emergency will be triaged by the CTAS scoring system and the on-call doctor will be notified.
During business hours for the medical clinic, the patient may be instructed to go there.
Nurisng Coverage of the emergency room is provided by nursing staff from the acute care / long-term care unit.

Emergency room personnel working the Vulcan Community Health Centre have access to two critical care resources – STARS (Shock Trauma Shock Trauma Rescue Society) Air Ambulance and RAAPID (Referral, Access, Advice, Placement, Information, Designation)

STARS is the specially trained team of doctor, nurse, and paramedics who dispatch helicopters or fixed wing aircraft to rural of Alberta areas to assist with critical patient transfers.

RAAPID is the central call line for southern Alberta to access specialists and tertiary care.
RAAPID will find an available bed in the city for critical transfers and will facilitate telephone consults with Calgary-based specialists. The doctor must call the number and give the information to the triage nurse. She will then find a bed in the appropriate facility and call you back with the transfer information.
Contact information for STARS and RAAPID can be found near the telephones in the trauma room, emergency room nurses station, and the main nursing station.

Emergency Medical Services is more than a transport service for patients – it is a critical clinical service. In an emergency situation, treatment begins as soon as the EMS team arrives and continues until the patient can be cared for in a medical facility
Alberta Health Services EMS coverage in the Vulcan area is described as Advanced Life Support Service with a paramedic on duty 24/
Advanced Life Support ambulances are able to respond to more complex medical situations with a staff of at least one paramedic with expanded training and scope of practice and more life saving equipment on board.