What to Expect at the Emergency Room
A guide for parents and caregivers while
at the emergency room.
Going to the emergency room because your child is in crisis or may be in danger is a stressful and overwhelming experience for parents and caregivers. Many families have shared that understanding what usually happens at the hospital would have helped them feel less confused and make hard decisions more easily. We listened to that feedback and created these resources to help you speak up for your loved one and work toward what is best for your family.
Emergency Room Workers Will:
- Medically stabilize and assess your child. This could include taking blood, connecting machines and attaching an intravenous (I/V) line.
- Decide if there is immediate danger rom suicidal thoughts or risk of harm to self or others.
- Make medically-informed plans for follow-up care.
When You Are at Check-In
- Explain what happened, why you are there, and what your child needs.
- Provide basic information, including name, address and insurance.
- Have the following with you in the emergency room:
- All medications, or a list of medications your child is taking.
- Your child’s health history, including mental health diagnosis, if there is one.
- Names and phone number of your child’s doctor, therapist, and other professionals that your child sees for their mental health or substance use concerns.
If you did not bring this information, ask someone to bring it, or text it, to you. It can help keep this information in one place so you can grab it quickly if you need it in the future.
Medical Health Assessment
Emergency room staff will complete an assessment that looks at four main areas:
- General medical assessment
- Blood pressure, temperature, and other basic checks.
- Overall physical health.
- Possible side effects from medications or other substances.
- Suicide attempt circumstances
- What your child did to harm themself.
- Past attempts.
- Whether there was a suicide note.
- What may have led up to the attempt, such as a school, friends, or family stress.
- Overall mental state
- How your child feels now, such as angry, sad, relieved, or overwhelmed.
Mental Health Assessment
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Health professionals will decide how urgent your child’s mental health needs are. One or more of the following may ask to speak with your child in a private room:
Emergency Room Doctor
- Psychiatrist
- Psychiatric Nurse
- Mental Health Crisis Worker
For safety reasons, your child may wait in a psychiatric hold room. These rooms are simple and may not have many items. Staff may ask your child to change into a gown or scrubs, and slippers. All Emergency Rooms have warmed blankets, you can ask for this, if necessary or helpful.
Questions during the assessment may include:
- Why did you bring your child to the emergency room today?
- Did anything different happen today or during the past week?
- Has your child tried to harm themselves before?
- Does your child have a history of unsafe behavior, such as cutting, overdose, or substance use?
- Are there events coming up that are causing your child stress?
- Do you know what may have led to this crisis?
- Is there abuse or bullying, at school, at home, or somewhere else?
- How is your child doing at school?
- Is there a family history of mental illness, addiction, or suicide?
- Were there treatments or medications that helped family members?
Suicide Risk Assessment
Emergency staff will assess your child’s risk for suicide. This is more than asking if your child feels suicidal right now. A child may feel safer in the hospital but still be at risk later when stress returns at home or school.
The assessment will include:
- Reviewing current medications, including alcohol or drug use.
Planning follow-up care, including:
- Ability to care for themself.
- Need for peer support.
- Other community-based services.
- Planning what happens after emergency room visits,
- such as going home or moving to another level of care.
You may hear about behaviors or concerns you did not know about. This can be shocking. Try to stay calm and focus on making sure the safety plan addresses these concerns. You will have time to process your own feelings after the crisis has passed.
How to Advocate for You and
Your Child in the Moment
Be clear about why you are in the emergency room and what you want for your child.
Ask questions about the safety plan and follow-up care. If the hospital wants to send your child home and you do not believe you can keep them safe, trust your instincts and explain why.
Ask yourself:
- Is my child at risk of harming themself or others?
- Will my child be alone during the day or night?
If you do not believe your child will be safe, do not sign the release from the emergency room, say so.
Speaking up and helping your team understand your concerns is important. If you say you cannot take your child home because of safety concerns, Child Protective Services (CPS) may be contacted. If this happens, do your best to stay calm.
CPS does not want to take custody of a child when there is someone who can safely care for them. You can ask CPS staff to help you work with the emergency room team to create a safety plan.
If you have concerns, contact the hospital patient advocate and the Oregon Health Authority ombudsperson right away. You can also file a complaint that clearly explains your concerns.