Emergency and Trauma

If you or someone you know is experiencing an emergency such as a heart attack or stroke, please call 911.

We’ve taken steps to ensure your safety when you visit our emergency department:

Mandatory masks: All patients and visitors must be masked
Patient safety: Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms is isolated from waiting areas, patient rooms, entrances, and any space that the general population uses.
Cleaning: our teams are providing extra cleaning and disinfecting in all spaces.
Employee and Physician Screening: We have instituted mandatory temperature screenings before each shift.

For further information, contact us at 310-900-8900

Our emergency room physicians and support staff are specialists in emergency medical care, ensuring they are able to provide excellent care for any illness, injury, or trauma. They are also multilingual and can communicate with patients to understand their healthcare needs.

Each year, more than 50,000 patients receive emergency medical care in the Emergency Department. Our Emergency Department is open 24/7 to patients of all ages.

The St. Francis Medical Center emergency department has the following designations:

Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP)
Certified Primary Stroke Center
Designation as a 5150 Receiving Facility for adult behavioral health patients under involuntary evaluation
Designated Paramedic Base Station

St. Francis Medical Center is a Level II Trauma Center as verified by the American College of Surgeons. We are the only trauma center in our service area, providing care to over 2,000 trauma patients a year.

Stroke Care

St. Francis is a designated Primary Stroke Center by Joint Commission, the leading accrediting body for hospitals in the United States. Our stroke program has earned the Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for excellence in stroke care. This award recognizes our commitment to patient care and to improving patient survival rates.

These awards recognize the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

St. Francis Medical Center earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

People who have symptoms of a stroke need to call 911 immediately.

A simple way to remember the warning signs of a stroke is the acronym FAST. It stands for:

Face drooping
Arm weakness
Speech difficulty
Time to call 911

STEMI Receiving Center

St. Francis is Joint Commission certified and Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency approved STEMI-receiving center. STEMI stands for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction, a severe heart attack caused by clogging in the arteries. There are only 36 STEMI Receiving Centers in Los Angeles County. St. Francis Medical Center is the only STEMI Receiving Center within our service area and is an important provider of percutaneous coronary intervention treatment services for residents.