Emergency care

Emergency services in the Inland Empire region

Riverside Community Hospital's emergency room (ER) is one of the largest in the Inland Empire and staffed by a dedicated emergency team featuring board-certified physicians and nurses certified in emergency medicine. Our ER is the most expansive Level I Trauma Center in Southern California, designated by Riverside County. Our experienced emergency care treatment for 100,000 patients annually and are available 24/7 to meet your needs when unexpected illnesses or injuries occur.

Our ER is centrally located in the heart of downtown Riverside, California, on 14th St., just off the 91 or 60 freeway.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.

Riverside Community Hospital is certified by DNV GL Healthcare as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. We are also recognized by The American Heart Association for excellence in stroke care.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) designated us as an Accredited Chest Pain Center—Primary PCI with Resuscitation. The Riverside County EMS Agency also designated us as an ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Receiving Center, which means we treat patients with the most severe type of heart attack.

Advanced emergency medical care

Riverside Community Hospital is excited to announce its newly remodeled and expanded ER, designed and equipped to provide more patients with high-quality emergency care. Our ER's services include:

• 24/7 diagnostic laboratory services and a new blood draw process implemented to expedite diagnosis and treatment
• 84 private patient beds
• A Fast Track area with 10 treatment rooms
• Dedicated X-ray and CT, along with other diagnostic imaging services
• A patient check-in electronic kiosk system
• A paramedic base station with a dedicated entrance, which allows us to transfer patients as quickly as possible
• An emergency helicopter landing pad
• Nationally certified heart attack and stroke services
• The first Level I Trauma Center in Riverside County

Chest pain and heart attack care

Our nationally recognized and accredited Chest Pain Center is home to a highly skilled team of medical specialists available around the clock to provide the latest treatments for cardiac conditions, including heart attack.

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

Signs of heart attack

Heart attacks are emergent medical conditions that occur when the blood vessels leading to the heart are blocked, resulting in less blood and oxygen reaching the heart muscle. Signs of a heart attack include:

• Chest discomfort, such as:
  • Fullness
  • Pain
  • Squeezing
  • Uncomfortable pressure
• Discomfort or pain in other areas of the upper body, such as:
  • Back
  • Jaw
  • Neck
  • One or both arms
  • Stomach
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating

Women are more likely to experience symptoms other than chest pain. Common heart attack symptoms in women include:

• Abdominal pain
• Indigestion
• Nausea
• Pain just under the breastbone
• Unexplained fatigue

If you notice the above symptoms in yourself or someone else, call 911 immediately.

Stroke care

Our Comprehensive Stroke Center offers leading-edge stroke care from a multidisciplinary stroke team of doctors and nurses. Our ER has implemented an acute stroke protocol to ensure efficient evaluation and treatment of patients with stroke symptoms.

Signs of stroke

When it comes to stroke, time is brain. That's why it's important to know the signs of stroke and seek emergency care immediately if signs appear. If you suspect a stroke is occurring, remember the acronym: B.E. F.A.S.T.

• Balance—Does the person have a sudden loss of balance?
• Eye—Has the person lost vision in one or both eyes?
• Face—Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
• Arms—Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
• Speech—Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Is the person confused? Can they repeat the sentence correctly?
• Terrible Headache—A sudden and severe headache often described as the worst headache you’ve ever had.

Call 911 if the patient suddenly shows any of these symptoms.

Trauma care

Riverside Community Hospital is home to a Level I Trauma Center. We have been serving our community as a designated Trauma Center for over 15 years. On average, we provide comprehensive care services to more than 3,000 traumatically injured patients annually. Through partnerships with paramedics and air ambulance services, we are proud to be a regional resource for patients in need of trauma care in the Inland Empire and surrounding communities.

As a Level I Trauma Center, we provide the following services:

• 24/7 in-house trauma surgeon availability
• 24-hour in-house trauma surgeons who perform life-saving surgeries in our dedicated operating room
• A 69-bed intensive care unit
• A full range of diagnostic services, including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Research program that advances trauma care and best practices
• A fully equipped blood bank
• Cardiopulmonary bypass availability
• Dedicated trauma resuscitation rooms
• Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs in multiple surgical and medical residencies
• Prompt availability of advanced specialty care including orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, interventional radiology, and critical care
• Regional leadership in injury prevention and public education

Our multidisciplinary trauma team

The highly trained and skilled multidisciplinary specialists on our trauma team include:

• Chaplains
• Neurosurgeons
• Orthopedic surgeons
• Physical, occupational and speech therapists
• Plastic surgeons
• Rehabilitation specialists
• Respiratory therapists
• Social workers and case managers
• Trauma nurses
• Trauma surgeons
• Vascular surgeons
• Critical care nurses and physicians

Our paramedic base station

As a Riverside County Paramedic Base Station, our hospital is one of only six in the county permitted to issue instructions to paramedics in the field. Our specialty trained mobile intensive care nurses communicate with paramedics via radio and receive more than 2,000 calls each month. Our nurses collaborate with paramedics to assess incoming patients, prepare for their arrival and ensure they receive the immediate care they require.