Bellevue Adult Emergency Service

Patients over the age of 25 with emergent illnesses are assessed in the Adult Emergency Service (AES) area of the Bellevue Emergency Department. Those with urgent complaints are seen in a separate Urgent Care area. The combined annual volume of the AES and Urgent Care areas is 65,000 visits.

In addition to the usual medical, psychiatric and surgical problems, a large variety of issues specifically endemic to the urban environment are encountered in the Bellevue AES. There is significant experience in the care of patients with blunt and penetrating trauma, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and tropical diseases. Trainees acquire special expertise in the management of clinical and social problems related to chronic mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse. The Bellevue AES also provides emergency care to prisoners from Manhattan's central booking office and Riker's Island, a city correctional facility, as well as emergency back-up to several large medical facilities including Goldwater Hospital (a large rehabilitation center), the Fountain House (a chronic psychiatric facility), and Gouveneur Hospital (an outpatient and nursing home facility). The Bellevue AES offers frequent opportunities for problem-solving and interaction with a multi-faceted community of health care professionals, including an active medical examiner's office for the City of New York.

The Bellevue AES is a level 1 trauma center and major paramedic receiving hospital. It is a designated hospital for neurosurgical trauma, for amputations requiring re-implantation, and for poisonings, in association with the New York City Poison Center. Cardiac catheterization is available on an emergency basis, as is cardiopulmonary bypass and hemodialysis. It also serves as the stand-by hospital, linked by special telephone to White House Security, whenever the President, Vice-President, or leading public figures visit New York City. All major specialties and subspecialties are available at Bellevue Hospital Center during the entire year, 24 hours a day.

One unique aspect of the Bellevue AES is its size. The Bellevue Hospital Emergency Department encompasses approximately 65,000 square feet of clinical space. The AES area has 18 examining beds with four isolation rooms. There are also separate specialty areas for asthmatic, orthopedic, ophthamologic/otolaryngologic, and obstetric/gynecologic cases. The AES includes a trauma suite and acute care area for critically ill patients in need of rapid resuscitation, and an emergency ward which functions as an intensive care unit attached to the AES for critically ill patients awaiting placement in the other hospital units.