MARCUS TRAUMA AND EMERGENCY CENTER

For my second built environment I chose to observe Grady Memorial Hospital’s Emergency room. I chose this location because it is one of my career goals. I hope to become a registered nurse in the near future, Grady is not only one of the most popular hospitals around, but has the best ER in the South. Grady has a nationally acclaimed Emergency Department that treats adult medical, surgical, and trauma patients. The Emergency Department is located at 80 Jesse Hill Jr Drive SE Atlanta, GA 30303 .

WALKING TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM 

3/8/2016 Mid-Afternoon

On March 8, 2016 around 12:00 PM, I ventured outside of campus to see the new and improved Emergency room at Grady Memorial Hospital. I entered through the entrance near the Museum lobby. Upon entering the ER (Refer to video) I noticed the new side walks, windows, and benches around. The benches were a very nice addition and a personal favorite of mines. The newly added seats gave patients and family members a place to escape the actual environment of the ER and have a breath of fresh air. Everything looked brand new and very welcoming. Grady Video The sounds of ambulances, cars in traffic honking, and patients arguing outside filled the air. The colors WHITE and RED were very apparent (Grady’s hospital colors).

Here’s the map I used to navigate around Grady. It’s not extremely detailed but it really helped being that Grady is such a huge hospital. In comparison to the rest of the hospital, the Emergency room is clearly the biggest. Most medical professionals often rate a good hospital on it’s how big or functional the Emergency department is.

As I entered the Emergency Room, I looked across the street and immediately saw this sign (refer to picture below). This was also a new addition to the hospital’s campus. I believe it helps people that are not familiar with the area to navigate around easily. The sidewalks were filled with students, doctors, medical students, workers, and patients. Also Emory Medical school campus is located immediately across the street from the hospital.

INSIDE THE EMERGENCY ROOM

**Actual pictures of the exterior of this site were not permitted due to HIPPA**

As soon as I entered the ER, I am stopped by a police man on duty. I was instructed to place my phone and bag in a separate inspection tray and walk through this huge metal detector (As seen in the picture below). The metal detector did not go off as I walked through, so I collected my things and observed the check in desk (which was immediately across from the metal detector/ entrance). At the check in desk there were 4 nurses dressed in white and green scrubs that dealt with patient charts, instructed family members where to sit, and other tasks. The mood in the ER is slightly upbeat, yet gloom. Nurses walked around with smiles on their faces. I noticed many patients starred down at the tiles on the floors or up at the bland ceilings. The set up of the ER was actually quite surprising. There were three separate public spaces that were allotted for seating. In the first room located to the far left after you enter the ER, there were two LG flat screen TV’s and about 15-20 seats. The second and third rooms were located to the right of the entrance and each consisted of about 3-4 more LG TV’s and also an orange name on the wall that said “Marcus Trauma and Emergency Department”. (See image below)

I sat in the Emergency room for 45 minutes to an hour and observed the atmosphere of the location. There were an abundance of coughing, sniffing, sneezing, and deep sighing that I heard throughout the entire time. I recorded a few minutes of what I heard while observing. (Play below)

I also observed several people waiting actually fall asleep. The tone of this area was BUSINESS. Nurses were unbothered and not phased by open wounds, blood, or people that looked homeless. They were there to do their jobs and save lives.