Emergency Medicine & Immediate Care

In an emergency, time is a critical factor. Call 911 or go to the emergency room if you or your loved one experiences any of the following:

• Significant bleeding
• Trouble breathing
• Significant head trauma
• Major injuries from accidents
• Chest pain
• Stroke symptoms
• Choking
• Ingesting poison
• Broken bones
• Any sudden or rapid changes to your health

Hancock Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department is located at 801 N. State St., Greenfield, IN.

If symptoms don’t seem severe, but you need care and can’t wait for an appointment, we have two convenient immediate care locations. Walk into an immediate care center for any of the following:

• Minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises
• Minor swelling, aches, and pains
• Ear infections
• Cold symptoms (coughing, sore throat, fever)
• Flu symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)
• Sprains and minor injuries

Some illnesses and injuries obviously call for emergency care, but some are not so obvious. Trust your instincts and listen to your body when making your decision.

Survivors of sexual assault might not know where to turn or how to seek help. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program is designed to help survivors across East Central Indiana.

Confidential services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Specially trained nurses and nurse practitioners conduct free examinations, document patients’ stories, and preserve legal evidence for law enforcement. Services may also include providing relevant medications and connecting patients to counseling or other community resources.

The SANE program at Hancock Health is available at the Knightstown Health Care Center:

Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.

On weekday evenings and weekends, qualified nurse examiners remain on call around the clock and can be accessed through Hancock Regional Hospital. The facility is patrolled for added security.

If you have any questions about SANE services, please contact Donna Timblin at dtimblin@hancockregional.org.

This program is made possible through partnerships with Henry Community Health, Rush Memorial Hospital, and the prosecutors’ offices of Hancock and Henry counties.

The following policy is applicable to all patients who come to Hancock Regional Hospital for emergency care:

• Any person who presents to the Emergency Department, or anywhere on hospital property, requesting evaluation of a medical condition will be escorted to the Emergency Department, triaged by an RN and receive a screening exam by the emergency physician to determine whether the patient has an emergency medical condition. Additionally, the patient shall be registered provided the registration shall not unreasonably delay the patient’s screening exam.
• The medical screening exam will include, but is not limited to:
  • Vital signs
  • Medical history
  • Physical exam
• The medical screening exam is generally conducted in the Emergency Department, but may occur at other sites. Regardless of location, patients will be screened in a respectful fashion, considerate of their privacy and confidentiality rights and consistent with their clinical presentation, the attendant circumstances and available Hospital resources.
• In the event of concern for staff or patient safety, the nursing staff or Emergency Department physician may at their discretion request the presence of an Hancock Regional Hospital Security Officer or other assistive personnel. Any associate present in the area where the medical screening exam is conducted shall have signed the “Information Security Agreement” and shall have received instruction regarding Patient Rights and Confidentiality, HIPAA and Corporate Compliance.
• After receiving a screening exam and any indicated stabilizing treatment, patients who do not have a family physician and who need outpatient follow-up care will be:
  • Referred to a physician, either primary care or specialty, as felt most appropriate by the Emergency physician.
  • If the patient requires close or urgent follow-up care, the Emergency physician will notify the receiving physician to discuss the care and ensure proper follow-up.
• If the patient is determined to have an emergency medical condition and the patient requires services not available at this facility, the physician will arrange for a transfer to an appropriate tertiary facility and explain risks and benefits to the patient being transferred. (Refer to Nursing Manual Policy #CC 300). Informed consent will be obtained.
• If the hospital becomes aware that an individual intends to leave prior to receiving the medical screening examination, the following steps should be taken:
  • Offer the individual further medical examination and treatment within the staff and facilities available at the hospital as may be required to identify and stabilize an emergency medical condition.
  • Inform the individual of the benefits of such examination and treatment and of the risks of withdrawal prior to receiving such examination and treatment.
• In the event the individual refuses a medical screening exam, a “Refusal of Medical Screening Form” will be completed and the patient requested to sign. If the patient refuses to sign, staff will document this on the form that will be a part of the patient’s permanent medical record.
• The medical record will be processed in the same manner as all Emergency Department records.