UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Emergency Department
Information
Number of patients waiting reflects the current number of patients waiting to be seen. This number changes frequently and is not exact.
Emergency Entrance
Hours of Operation
- Monday: Open 24 hours
- Tuesday: Open 24 hours
- Wednesday: Open 24 hours
- Thursday: Open 24 hours
- Friday: Open 24 hours
- Saturday: Open 24 hours
- Sunday: Open 24 hours
Emergency Care
For serious or life-threatening health issues, you need to call 911 or go to the emergency room.
When To Use Emergency Care
- Chest pain or symptoms of heart attack (sweating and shortness of breath)
- Symptoms of stroke (sudden dizziness, weakness, loss of coordination, balance and vision problems)
- Injuries from a car accident
- Head pain (sudden or severe) or head injury
- Loss of consciousness (with or without head injury)
- Severe cuts
- Open broken bones
- Abdominal pain (sudden or severe)
- Choking
- Poisoning
- Uncontrolled fever
- Foreign object in the eye
- Severe COVID-19 symptoms (trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake)
A Team You Can Trust
- Board-certified doctors are in the Emergency Department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ready for any emergency
- All of our nurses are specially trained in providing emergency adult and pediatric care, as well as in trauma and resuscitation
- Allen is an award-winning heart hospital — recognized as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission, and an accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI by the Society of Chest Pain Centers
- Minutes count when it comes to heart attack care — Allen Hospital's average door-to-balloon time is 54 minutes, beating the national average
- Allen has been designated as an Area Trauma Center by the Iowa Department of Public Health
Care Coordination in the Emergency Department
When you are sent home or admitted to the hospital, your health record and the results of your tests are sent directly to your primary care provider through our computer system.
Social workers are stationed in the Emergency Department to help you and your doctor make sure you have everything you need, and they assist in planning for your needs when you go home.
A pharmacist is stationed in the Emergency Department to help get your medication list correct. They can also help get your prescriptions, even before you go home.
Many specialists are available to the Emergency Department for consultation, including pediatrics, orthopedics, gastroenterology, surgery, neurology, psychiatry and others.
What Type of Appointment Do I Need?
Primary Care encompasses the comprehensive treatment of a number of diseases in symptoms and specialties including pediatrics, internal medicine and family medicine. Rather than specializing in one particular area of medicine, the physician is trained to meet all the needs of patients as one point of contact. Examples of symptoms and conditions treated by a primary care provider can include:
- Minor medical problems and injuries
- Physicals/Sports Physicals
- Medicine Checks
- Long Term Care
- Medication Refill
- Ongoing Symptoms (ex: Continued Back Pain)
- Care or Treatment Planning
- Disease Management
- Managing Existing Conditions (Migraines, Depression, Anxiety, Arthritis, etc.)
- Substance Abuse
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes and obesity
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Skin problems
Urgent Care and Express treat minor medical problems and injuries that are not life-threatening, but need the attention of a health care provider. These are not an alternative to the emergency room, but offer the ability to get walk-in care without an appointment for all patient ages. Urgent Care is available after hours, weekends and holidays. Our Urgent Care Clinics can provide medical treatment for minor illness and injuries such as:
- Allergies
- Burns
- Colds
- Coughs
- Cuts (Stitches)
- Earaches or Ear Infections
- Fevers
- Minor Medical Problems and Injuries
- Minor Eye Care
- Flu
- Fractures (X-Ray On-Site at Most Locations)
- Infections
- Sore Throats
- Sprains, Including Sprained Ankles (X-Ray On-Site at Most Locations)
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
- Yeast Infections
- Certain Rapid Tests
Please note: Flu shots, physicals and/or sports physicals are not offered at every walk-in care location.
*If you are experiencing chest pain or shortness of breath, please go to the Emergency Department or call 911 immediately. For less serious medical issues, such as physicals, medication refills or to leave a message for your primary care doctor, you can access your My UnityPoint patient portal 24/7!
Connect with a UnityPoint Health provider online using MyUnityPoint to access virtual urgent care or SmartExam. Virtual care doctors can diagnose, recommend treatment and prescribe medication when necessary for commonly treated conditions. Available every day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for individuals 2 years and older located in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Virtual care should be used for minor, common ailments and illnesses. Some examples, and the qualifying age to receive virtual care or SmartExam for that condition, include:
| Condition | Virtual Urgent Care | SmartExam |
|---|---|---|
| Acne | 2+ | 2+ |
| Burn | 2+ | 2+ |
| Cold/Flu | 2+ | 2+ |
| Cold Sores | 13+ | 18+ |
| Constipation | 2+ | 18+ |
| Cough/Upper Respiratory Infection | 2+ | 18+ |
| Diarrhea | 2+ | 18+ |
| Fever | 2+ | 18+ |
| Head Lice | 2+ | 2+ |
| Heartburn | 2+ | 18+ |
| Headache/Migraine | 18+ | 18+ |
| Joint Pan | 2+ | 18+ |
| Rash | 2+ | 18+ |
| Red Eye | 2+ | 2+ |
| Sinuses | 2+ | 2+ |
| Sore Throat | 2+ | 18+ |
| Urinary Tract Infection | 13+ (female only) | 18+ |
| Vaginal Infection (yeast/bacterial vaginosis) | 18+ | 18+ |
| Vomiting | 2+ | 18+ |
Emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for severe or life-threatening conditions. Conditions that require emergency care include excessive bleeding, broken bones, chest pain or trouble breathing. Emergency services include diagnostic testing and access to specialists.
Examples of symptoms and conditions treated by emergency departments can include:
- Symptoms of a heart attack, including severe chest pain, sweating and shortness of breath.
- Profuse bleeding or blood loss that continues even after direct pressure has been placed on the wound.
- Severe abdominal pain.
- Sudden dizziness, weakness, loss of coordination, balance or vision problems, which are signs of stroke.
- High fever and vomiting that continues nonstop for several hours.
- Signs of meningitis for adults: severe headaches, neck/joint pain and stiffness, vomiting, high temperature, sensitivity to light or babies and small children: high-pitched whimpering/crying, lethargy, fussiness, restlessness, high fever, vomiting, cold extremities, refusing food, pale or blotchy skin.
- Seizures lasting longer than five minutes.
- Injuries occurring from an accident or fall - intense back or neck pain, obvious compound fractures and/or dislocations of bones, deep cuts and severe burns.