Our Services

The Emergency Department at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) maintains the following services:

Trauma Care

BWH is a verified Level I Trauma Center, providing multidisciplinary state-of-the-art emergency care for trauma patients.

Emergency Department

The BWH Emergency Department (ED) is a designated receiving center for heart attacks, strokes, and all types of adult illnesses and injuries requiring emergency care. Approximately 25 percent of our patients arrive via emergency medicine services (EMS), and many of our patients are transferred in from other institutions to receive specialty medical or surgical care that few emergency departments in the country are equipped to provide.

ED Observation Unit

This unit provides a healing environment within the ED for patients who require an additional period of observation or treatment before being discharged or admitted. With an average length of stay of 10–12 hours, patients in the ED Observation Unit receive care by a dedicated nursing staff and physician assistants under the ongoing supervision of the attending emergency medicine physician.

Patient and Family Relations

Patients’ family members (or other patient support persons) are welcome to accompany patients through the process of care, beginning at the entrance to the ED. Interpreter services, social workers, financial counselors, chaplains, and Patient and Family Relations personnel are available to assist with the varied needs of our patients while they are in the ED.