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Emergency Medicine Overview

NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center

Emergency Medicine

Frequently Asked Questions for the Emergency Department at Weill Cornell

 

Charging Stations

Charging stations are located throughout the Emergency Department.

Food

Visit retail dining for places to eat.

Home Care Services/Nursing Home

Getting help at home is very important to ensure you can safely live at home and maintain your health. Medicaid, Medicare, and some private insurance companies will pay for homecare services. The following steps will be taken to determine your eligibility:

Your doctor will need to assess you for the following:

  • Skilled nursing care, such as wound care, intravenous care, diabetic teaching, blood pressure monitoring, and other nursing services that can be provided in the home
  • Physical therapy
  • Your inability to leave your home to receive the services

Your doctor then determines and states if you are homebound and requests the services you need.

A care manager or social worker will provide you with the names of certified home health agencies in your area and request the needed services. They will give you the contact information and start-of-care date for your home care services before you leave the Emergency Room. These services are time limited based on your insurance authorization and medical need.

A nurse from the certified home health agency will come to your home to evaluate the services you need. He or she will decide if you qualify for a home health aide in combination with nursing and/or physical therapy services. Services are generally provided a few days a week over a limited time period.

If you receive home attendant services through Medicaid from a managed long-term care plan, you should contact your insurance company to discuss your increased need for services. If you are willing and able to pay privately for additional support, a care manager or social worker can provide you with a list of agencies. You can plan for the needed hours of services directly with the agency you select.

It is the responsibility of the nursing home that you came from to the Emergency Room to help you transfer to a new nursing home of your choice.

Insurance

You can apply for Medicaid using one of the following options:

  • Call the New York State Department of Health, the Official Health Plan Marketplace, at 855-355-5777 or visit the New York State of Health website
  • Call the Medicaid Helpline at 800-541-2831 to schedule an in-person appointment with a navigator who can assist you throughout the application process
  • Visit New York State of Health for a directory of navigator locations
  • Apply at your local department of social services

Generally, you will be notified if your application has been accepted or denied within 45 days of the date of your application. If you are applying and have a disability that must be evaluated, it can take up to 90 days for a decision.

You are not alone in this. Your first step is to call the Hospital’s Network Recovery Services at 212-746-3646. A representative will help you find out if you are eligible for Medicaid or other programs that can assist with paying medical bills. This is a free service. A care manager or social worker can also make a referral for you to Network Recovery Services.

Internet Access

To access the Internet:

  • Open wireless networks
  • Click on the “Guest-Net” wireless address
  • Accept the terms/conditions to continue to the Internet

NewYork-Presbyterian Mobile Application

The NewYork-Presbyterian mobile application (NYP App) is a free mobile guide to patient care. The app centralizes resources for all of NewYork-Presbyterian, making them easy to find.

Download the NYP App from the App Store or Google Play; text “NYP” to 69697; or visit nyp.org/app.

The NewYork-Presbyterian mobile application offers detailed navigation within NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. The app will display your current location on the hospital map and provides directions to clinical departments, hospital amenities, patient services, and other onsite resources. The app also provides information on neighborhood restaurants, hotels, and pharmacies, as well as transportation and parking.

Telemedicine

You may be increasingly aware of the use of telemedicine to provide care in the community. At NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, we are using telemedicine in a variety of ways to make access to care easy. Telemedicine programs at NewYork-Presbyterian are under the umbrella NYP OnDemand.

NewYork-Presbyterian OnDemand is a confidential and secure suite of digital health services for adult and pediatric patients and their providers. Through our telehealth services, you can quickly and easily communicate with NewYork-Presbyterian doctors from your mobile phone, tablet, computer, or kiosks at select Duane Reade locations.

 

 

Services

Virtual Urgent Care

For certain non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, video chat with one of our board-certified emergency medicine physicians to get a diagnosis and treatment plan. If medically necessary patients may also receive a prescription sent to a pharmacy of their choosing.

Video Visit

Video chat with participating doctors conveniently, without traveling to their offices. Your doctor can let you know if he or she participates.

Community Tele-paramedicine

This program cares for very sick people after their hospitalization by bringing Emergency Department services to their home.The program focuses on certain conditions, including heart failure, COPD, kidney failure, and diabetes. Paramedics come to the house and are joined by a board certified emergency doctor by teleconference. Bloodwork testing can be done in the home with a portable lab, and medications can be given under the doctor’s direction.This is a new way to give care in which the Emergency Department becomes a service as well as a location.

Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit

This specially equipped ambulance is designed to provide immediate, specialized care to people who may be having a stroke on their way to the hospital. The Unit contains specialized staff, technology, and medications specifically used for treating strokes. CT scanning equipment is available on board and and a doctor joins the evaluation in the ambulance by video. If stroke is detected, a patient can receive potentially life-saving clot-reducing medication, or other medications specific to stroke care, which were previously only available in the emergency department. Visit Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit.

For more information on NewYork-Presbyterian’s telehealth programs, visit NewYork-Presbyterian Digital Health.

Transportation

 

In most cases, we recommend that you go home with a family member or friend. You should call them as soon as you know that you will be discharged home so that they can pick you up when you are leaving. If they don’t have a vehicle, consider returning home in a taxi or car service.

Generally, most insurance providers do not cover transportation services. Medicaid and Medicare provide limited transportation benefits for individuals who cannot use public transportation due to medical reasons. If you do qualify for transportation, the wait time for transportation services varies by the volume of calls and time of day and can sometimes be several hours.

If you cannot make your own transportation arrangements and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare transportation services when being discharged from the Emergency Room, your provider will refer you to a care manager or social worker to discuss your options.

Transportation options include:

  • Ambulance: emergency transportation for individuals who are sick or injured
  • Ambulette: nonemergency transportation for individuals who must use wheelchairs
  • Livery: car service for individuals who cannot use the bus or subway because of medical reasons

Medicaid covers ambulance, ambulette, and livery transportation services if your doctor determines it is required because of a medical need.

Medicare only covers transportation by an ambulance. To be eligible for ambulance transport your doctor must determine that you need medical attention while being transported, as well as for other medical reasons, including you are unable to walk, confined to a bed, or unable to sit up in a wheelchair.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits

If you were hurt in a work-related incident, you should obtain medical care as soon as possible and then inform your supervisor that you were hurt at work and how it happened and discuss how long you will need to recover.

You will then need to take the following steps:

Inform your supervisor in writing of your accident as soon as possible but no later than within 30 days.

File a C-3 form with the Workers’ Compensation Board within 2 years of your injury. This can be done by:

Please be sure to keep copies of all of your documentation for your records. For more information, you can visit New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

Related Links

WCM Myra Mahon Patient Resource Center

LGBTQ+ Community Healthcare Resources

Integrative Health and Wellbeing Program