Emergency Room in Marion, NC | Mission Hospital McDowell

Emergency room (ER) in Marion, North Carolina

If something feels wrong, you shouldn't have to wait or travel great distances to get the treatment you need.

Emergencies require swift action and expertise. At Mission Hospital McDowell, our highly-trained emergency doctors and nurses are on standby 24/7 to provide critical care with compassion and skill.

Medical airlift services

Our 24/7, regional helicopter service — Mountain Area Medical Airlift (MAMA) — provides transport if you are critically ill or injured within a 150-mile radius of Asheville. This enables our adult and pediatric care teams to get you the life-saving care you need.

Learn More About MAMA

Conditions we treat in our emergency department

It can be difficult to know what constitutes a medical emergency. However, go to the nearest emergency room immediately if you experience any of the following:

Behavioral health crises
Broken bones
Chest pain
Concussions
Dangerous insect bites
Difficulty breathing
Dizziness
Head trauma
Heart attacks
High fever
Nausea and vomiting
Nonhealing wounds
Organ failure

Pneumonia
Poisoning
Seizures
Severe abdominal pain
Severe allergic reactions
Strokes
Suspicious insect bites
Uncontrollable bleeding

Our emergency medical services

The goal in the ER is to quickly, carefully and effectively treat your condition. We encourage you to ask questions, so you have all the information you need during treatment.

Behavioral health treatment

If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health emergency, such as self-harming behavior, our ER doctors are here to provide evaluation and consultation. If a situation progresses, we bring on the counsel and expertise of Sweeten Creek Mental Health and Wellness Center, located in Asheville, NC. Our emergency department is connected to their staff in the event an admission becomes necessary. Behavioral health issues that should warrant a trip to the ER include:

Intentional toxic substance ingestion
Paranoia
Psychosis
Suicidal or homicidal feelings
Self-inflicting wounds
Worsening depression

Stroke treatment

As a designated Acute Stroke-Ready Hospital, our ER team is equipped to provide rapid stroke care when the need arises, including medications. If you or a loved one has experienced a stroke, we are ready to stabilize you before transporting you to a primary or comprehensive stroke center in the region.

Stroke symptoms can vary, which can make it confusing to know when you need to seek emergency care. This is why we remind people about BEFAST, an acronym that explains stroke symptoms:

B – Can you keep your balance?
E – Are your eyes blurry?
F – Is your face drooping?
A – Do your arms have weakness or numbness?
S – Is your speech slurred or confused?
T – Time to call 911!

About our ER

When you come to us for emergency care, you have access to an array of medical professionals and ER services.

Features of our 24-hour ER

Some of the features of our emergency department include:

Advanced imaging to detect underlying causes
- Computerized tomography (CT) scans
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Nuclear medicine
- Ultrasound
- X-ray
Cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons
Chaplains, social workers and case managers
Emergency medicine doctors and nurses
Orthopedic surgeons
Physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapists
Radiologists
Trauma surgeons