Florida Hospital Zephyrhills brings in new emergency team
By Kyle LoJacono
Florida Hospital Zephyrhills took a step in achieving CEO and president Doug Duffield’s vision of reducing the wait time of all patients who come to the facility.
Florida Emergency Physicians (FEP) was brought onboard Oct. 1 to run the hospital’s emergency department. The company was chosen because all 15 members of the team are board certified in emergency care.
“That means we can treat anything that comes through the emergency room doors,” said Dr. Ramón Nuñez, leader of the new team. “People won’t have to wait for a specialist because we can handle anything. That should also reduce the fear of anyone coming in. No one wakes up planning to go to the emergency room. We usually see people on their worst day, so if we can make them feel more comfortable we find treatment is better.”
Nuñez, now the emergency department’s medical director, said some of the conditions they can treat include cardiac care, fractures and using ultrasounds to pinpoint problems.
“Cutting down the time is huge and I’m glad we can add to that trend at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills,” Nuñez said. “In emergency care, minutes matter.”
Hospital spokeswoman Lyn Acer said the facility decided to go with the new team over the former one because FEP can provide better care for the community for a variety of reasons.
FEP works with eight other Adventist Health System hospitals, the parent company for Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. Most of the facilities are around Orlando and the affiliation in Zephyrhills is the first in the Tampa Bay region.
HealthGrades, a national healthcare ratings company, gave FEP’s emergency department system in Orlando the Emergency Department Excellence Award in 2010. The top 5 percent of emergency departments receive the award nationally.
Nuñez said one of the keys to FEP’s success in treating patients is using the latest technology.
“We use technology and techniques hot off the presses,” Nuñez said. “That’s the real strength of working with Florida Hospital Zephyrhills is they are allowing us to get the latest tools for better care.”
Part of using the newest technology is creating an electronic medical record. This tool, which was put in place the day FEP took over at the hospital, will be mandated for all healthcare facilities in 2014, but Nuñez said they decided to get it going as soon as possible.
“It allows for standards to be set up across the country for various medical treatments,” Nuñez said. “It’ll make healthcare better for patients, so we wanted to get it going.”
Nuñez said he got into emergency medicine because he is excited about the science and also because he can help people.
“It really impacts people’s lives every day,” Nuñez said. “I love being able to help people and I get to do that every day.”
