About the Emergency Department

At the Maxwell Blum Emergency Pavilion, we care for approximately 60,000 patients every year. Our facility includes 35,000 square feet of space with both adult and pediatric trauma rooms. The emergency room treatment area is divided into a 24-bed general emergency area open 24 hours per day. A separate 8-bed pediatric emergency area is open 16 hours per day from 10:00 am to 2:00 am. The area is staffed with specialty trained pediatric emergency physicians and child life specialists.

Academic Training

Newton-Wellesley Hospital is an academic community hospital and participates in the clinical rotations and educational training of medical students from Tufts University Medical School and medical residents from Massachusetts General Hospital. The Emergency Department staff also participates in the training of paramedic students from Massachusetts Bay Community College and physician assistant students from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Northeastern University.

Treatment Rooms

Each treatment room is equipped with the latest cardiac and vital sign monitoring technology and computer workstations containing emergency department documentation software. This allows caregivers to maintain patient records electronically at the patient’s bedside. This paperless documentation system virtually eliminates the need for paper charts, reduces error and provides a smoother transition for patients during their Emergency Department experience.

We are also outfitted with our own diagnostic imaging suite including two digital X-ray rooms, a 64-slice CT scanner and advanced ultrasound scanning capabilities.  

Fast Track

The Department operates a four-bed Fast Track from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm that strives to provide a quick turnaround on lower acuity cases. Our goal is to minimize the amount of time patients spend in Fast Track. Our target is to discharge Fast Track patients within 90 minutes depending on the other cases being treated at that time. Nurses, specially trained in emergency medicine and triage, use an advanced triage system, the Emergency Severity Index, to determine the extent of each patient’s illness. Lower acuity cases are sent to the Fast Track area; however, if the patient’s condition is more urgent they are brought directly to a treatment room for immediate care. 

Treatment

The average wait time for treatment is 30 minutes.
Family participation is encouraged in the treatment area. However, for confidentiality purposes, only two family members at a time may accompany the patient in the treatment area.

Electronic Medical Records

The patient’s visit to the Emergency Department is thoroughly documented by electronic medical record and available for fax to primary care physicians or referral specialists within 24 hours of the emergency room visit. All records and personal medical information transmission are designed to meet Federal HIPAA Regulations.