Where should I go if I need Emergency Services?
Hours: Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Fast Track: Fast Track is a unit in the ED that is open from 9 am–9 pm daily.
In Fast Track, people with minor emergencies receive prompt care from the same highly qualified teams of doctors and nurses who work in the ED.
ED Clinical Staff: Cooley Dickinson’s ED doctors are specialty trained and board-certified in emergency medicine. A doctor who is board certified has earned advanced training in his or her specialty. ED doctors provide individualized care. They coordinate care with the patient’s primary care doctor.
- Additional staff, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, emergency-care nurses, are certified in trauma care as well as advanced cardiac and pediatric life support while ancillary teams of Emergency Department technicians, secretaries, and patient observers, assist their colleagues in providing timely and compassionate care.
- ED clinical staff has access to health care teams of specialists who can be mobilized in minutes to respond to life-threatening conditions, including: critical care medicine, neurology, surgery, cardiology, orthopedics, pediatrics, psychiatry, and internal medicine.
Advanced Technology: X-ray, imaging, and lab services are availble in the ED. Electronic monitoring, bedside registration, state-of-the-art ultraviolet infection prevention, as well as electronic medical records help ensure safe and efficient care.
Your Comfort and Safety: To ensure that you have a positive experience while receiving the highest quality care, care managers coordinate your care in the ED and the services you may need when you leave. Interpreters, mental health counselors, financial counselors, and trained volunteers are also available. For your convenience, each patient room has a phone and a TV.
What should I expect when I arrive at the Emergency Department?
Visitor Information: We know how important it is to have someone with you when you are getting care in the ED. For the safety and privacy of all our patients and staff we ask that your visitors check in with our patient greeter who will contact the patient and clinical staff to receive clearance for a visit. Your visitors will then be brought to your room. During periods of high volume or clinical care needs, visits may be limited. If you or your visitor has questions or concerns, speak to our patient greeter.
Read the ED patient brochure in English or Spanish.
What do I need to bring with me?
To help you receive the most accurate and efficient care, please bring the following with you, if possible:
- All of your medications or a list of your medications including their dose and how often you take the medication. Download a medication form.
- A list of your medical problems
- A list of your allergies
- The names(s) of your primary care doctor and any specialists who treat you
- Your current address and insurance card
How long will I wait to be seen?
Emergency care means that the number of patients and their needs are unpredictable and vary greatly due to conditions the ED cannot control. When you arrive in the ED you will be evaluated as quickly as possible, ideally within 15 minutes. Patients with the most serious conditions are seen first, but all patients are monitored by clinical staff while they wait.
Patients are triaged based on the seriousness of their illness or accident.
Once you go to a Fast Track or ED room, your time of treatment will vary depending on the number and type of tests ordered and the treatments you need.
What if I can’t pay?
Our staff takes care of all patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Help us help you: 
Our medical, nursing, and volunteer care staff want to make sure your visit is comfortable and pleasant while providing the highest quality of care available. If you have questions or require more help, any member of our staff is ready, willing, and able to assist you.
Participate in your care. Be sure we:
- check your name band.
- wash our hands.
- tell you about your care, tests, medicine, and procedures.
- ask you about your goals for your care.
If we do not do any of the above, please talk to your nurse or ask to speak to the charge nurse on duty.
Advance Directive, Massachusetts Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
We want to honor your wishes. Please bring a copy of your advance directive or MOLST with you to the ED. Learn more about MOLST.
Additional Links
Get driving directions.
Read the ED Patient Brochure in English or Spanish.
Track your health information with this handy form.