When Experience Matters Most

Accidents and sudden critical illnesses have no respect for time or place. They can strike day or night—at home, at work or on the road. For emergency doctors, nurses, paramedics and communications personnel, swift transport and skilled treatment are around-the-clock jobs—jobs they perform with a passion. As a Level I Trauma Center, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center serves as the hub of an integrated network of emergency medical services that provides continuity of care.

Our network of emergency services includes:

• OSF Saint Anthony Level I Trauma Center and Emergency Department;
• Lifeline Helicopter Service;
• Lifeline Ambulance Services;
• OSF Northern Illinois Emergency Medical Services (NIEMS) provides education and training for emergency personnel in the region;
• MedComm, a communications center that receives calls for emergency assistance from physicians, emergency personnel serving in the region or hospital staff.

Lifeline Ambulance
OSF Lifeline Ambulance is now a division of OSF Healthcare. Click here for more information.

Lifeline Emergency Helicopter Service
Based at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, Lifeline has been in operation since 1981, and was the first hospital-based flight program established in Illinois and the 13 the established in the U.S. Lifeline serves a 12-county area in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. More than 18,000 patients have been transported from community hospitals and accident scenes to OSF Saint Anthony and other regional hospitals since Lifeline was established. During 2004, Lifeline logged more than 650 transports.

Lifeline Helicopter is fully equipped to function as a mini-emergency department. It has room for the pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic and up to two patients. The flight team is experienced in air medical transportation for trauma, emergency and critical care patients of all ages and for high risk OB patients.

OSF Saint Anthony Level I Trauma Center And Emergency Department
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center is designated a Level I Trauma Center, the highest designation in the state of Illinois. As such, OSF Saint Anthony is acknowledged as a leader in the treatment of traumatic injuries, cardiac and neurological emergencies and other life-threatening conditions.

A multidisciplinary team approach is used that provides excellent patient outcomes, and allows patients to quickly return to their home communities. Six board certified surgeons follow trauma patients throughout their hospitalization up to rehabilitation. Nurses certified in trauma care provide trauma patients with care in the Emergency Department as well as the Neuro/Trauma Intensive Care Unit. OSF Trauma Services cares for almost 1,000 trauma patients a year coming to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center from northern and central Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

OSF Saint Anthony recently completed a $5.9 million expansion of its emergency department extending its capabilities to care for trauma and other seriously ill patients. The expanded ED includes 19 rooms with 24 beds. Two rooms are set aside for trauma victims and another is for cardiac patients. In addition, there is a separate four-bay ambulance entrance. The OSF Saint Anthony Emergency Department is approved to provide pediatric care as certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health (EDAP). An estimated 36,000 patient visits will take place during 2005.

MEDLINEplus

CDC Emergency Preparedness