L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital is working to help emergency room patients spend less time waiting for treatment.

The hospital’s ER has adopted a new “30 Minutes or Less” Service Pledge as their policy, says Kelli Godwin, director of the ER.

“This means we will work diligently to ensure our patients initially see a physician within 30 minutes of their noted arrival,” Godwin explained.

“This doesn’t mean they will be in and out of the ER in 30 minutes of less. But it does mean we will always aim to have a physician see them and begin their evaluation and treatment within 30 minutes of being logged into our electronic documentation system. Year to date, a patient’s average time has been 22 minutes.”

Because of increased waiting time in many ERs across the country, L.V. Stabler is joining a number of other hospitals in creating service pledges to better serve patients, says Kimberli Weaver, chief nursing officer for the hospital.

“Basically, in layman’s terms, we are striving for Door-to-Doc within 30 minutes,” Weaver said.

“Obviously, if there is a very serious accident or an unusually high number of patients, this may delay things while those most in need of emergency treatment are cared for first. But our goal is to always provide care as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

According to Godwin, along with a physician, two RNs are in place at all times in the ER, and each has been trained and certified in treating acute cardiac cases, pediatric cases and in trauma care.

“We want the community to know we are here to give consistent, timely care to patients of all ages, no matter what the time of day or night, in order to meet their medical needs,” said Godwin.