Any sudden health problem feels like an emergency when it happens to you or someone you love.

That's why Auburn Memorial Hospital's Emergency Care Unit (ECU) is developing a Fast Track for patients with minor injuries and illnesses. The goal is to identify cases that are not life-threatening, such as a sprained ankle, and provide the best quality care in the most efficient way possible.

AMH recognizes that our emergency department is our front door to the community. That's why we have worked to make our ER the most efficient in central New York. Our waiting times have consistently been shown to be the lowest in the area. But we respect your time, and we will continue to improve our efforts to shorten your wait even more. The Fast Track service will help us reach this goal.

Our emergency department never closes its doors to ambulances, as some of the other hospitals in the area choose to do. We never divert patients who need us. We are always here for you when you need us.

What is Fast Track?

A growing number of hospitals today are trying to reduce waiting times in the ECU by designing systems to attend more quickly to patients who previously had to wait to be treated for minor emergencies, such as sprains, lacerations, sore throats, rashes or insect bites.

Emergency departments treat patients according to the severity of their condition, not arrival times. Fast Track provides its own staff to treat patients with minor emergencies, allowing the physicians to spend more time with the more serious or critical cases.

The idea behind fast-tracking is to better accommodate patients with minor medical emergencies, not to replace the family doctor. It provides people with another medical option during hours when their primary care physician is not available, and/or the hospital's urgent care centers (located on Grant Avenue in Auburn and Route 20 in Skaneateles) are not open.

How Does it Work?

An experienced Triage Nurse will assess your condition to determine if the Fast Track service can best serve your needs. Fast Track patients are cared for by a certified physician assistant or nurse practitioner. These highly trained health care professionals treat and medicate patients under the supervision of the ECU physicians.

Fast Track, when fully implemented, will be available seven days a week, from noon to midnight. At present, the program is fully staffed, and the practitioners are undergoing an intensive three to four month orientation program.

Beverly Miller is the director of community relations and the

Hospital Foundation at Auburn Memorial Hospital.