VA NY Harbor Healthcare System

Emergency Department

The primary mission of the Emergency Department of the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System is to serve our nation's Veterans with the highest quality emergency medical, surgical and psychiatric care. Features of our department include:

• 11-bed facility, open 24 hours a day.
• Dedicated 2-bed private and quiet area to examine and treat women Veterans.
• Referral center for interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and urology.
• Specific projects to monitor and improve care for acute heart attacks, pneumonia and heart failure.
• On-site testing for quick diagnosis and management of heart attacks.
• Educational site for medical students and residents of NYU School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine Residency Program.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM

The Emergency Department's Disaster Preparedness Program puts best current practices in place. In collaboration with Bellevue Hospital and NYU Medical Centers, we have obtained several grants funded by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and HRSA. Activities have included:

• Training for staff on decontamination methods.
• Creating and maintaining a bank of pharmaceutical antidotes and emergency supplies.
• Enhancing the hospital's surge and isolation capacity.

IMPROVING SERVICES

• Computerized tracking software helps us monitor the flow of patients to avoid delays.
• Teamed with primary care physicians who see walk-in patients; ED staff can focus on those with urgent illness without forcing those with minor complaints to suffer delay in care.