Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Trussville Chamber of Commerce and Grandview Medical Center board members and emergency room physicians participate in a ribbon cutting for the new freestanding emergency department behind the Trussville City Schools central office on April 3.
Grandview’s freestanding emergency department, located at 5542 Vanlerberghe Lane, is now open in Trussville.
Dr. Jeremy Rogers, the associate medical director for the Grandview Department of Emergency Medicine, said he is happy the company is expanding emergency access to the rapidly growing community in Trussville.
While Rogers will continue to perform services and administrative duties at the main campus, Dr. Kevin Cope will be the medical director for the Trussville FED.
Grandview’s FED will provide a variety of emergency department services around the clock with access to imaging, X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds and labs.
The FED will accept a wide variety of patients, from those experiencing the common cold to a heart attack.
“I’m very excited for the city of Trussville — it will provide 24-hour access to emergency care, quality and safety to patients, open access to Grandview Medical Center and being admitted to the hospital and our providers,” Rogers said.
The Grandview facility will house nine rooms according to a press release. Rogers said it will have an individual ER physician, assistants, patient care technicians and staff technicians for the lab, X-ray and ultrasound services.
“Many patients in the northeast corridor come from and live in Trussville, so there was a need to get more beds and care to the area,” Rogers said. “In general, there is a greater need for ED beds across the entire state. The pandemic is truly affecting how hospitals deal with staff shortages and hospital bed availability across the state.”
While an FED has more “walk-in” patients, it should not be confused with an urgent care facility. An FED treats the same conditions that can be treated in an ER, but an urgent care clinic only treats minor injuries and problems.
“The FED is an extension of the hospital itself — the staff members and physicians offer the same level of expertise and care. Many of our protocols for patient care are very similar at the main hospital, like stabilizing patients for strokes and heart attacks and getting patients transferred to the main hospital for preventative care,” Rogers said.
