The Emergency Department of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is located in the heart of University City in West Philadelphia and has an annual volume of over 72,000 patients a year. The patient population is diverse, as the ED functions as the major tertiary care center for the entire Philadelphia region. There is a high level of acuity in the HUP ED with an admission rate of 22%, representing 30-35% of the admissions to the hospital.
Penn Emergency Medicine faculty are board-certified in emergency medicine and/or internal medicine and are skilled in the evaluation and stabilization of complex medical and surgical cases. The department has developed prioritized care for patients with cardiologic, neurologic, and traumatic emergencies. The Emergency Medicine program is supported 24 hours a day, seven days a week by premier radiologic and laboratory technology.
In 1995 the HUP ED was completely renovated, creating a 28,000 square foot new department with 4 resuscitation rooms, a 1,400 square foot trauma resuscitation space (now at PPMC), 4 negative pressure rooms, one secured psychiatric evaluation room (now at PAH), and 20 more patient care rooms, not including the Fast Track area. In 2011, the ED was expanded to add a 17 bed Emergency Department Observation Unit ("EDOU"). The department, including all three Philadelphia-region sites (HUP, PAH and PPMC), has implemented a uniform electronic medical record that improves efficiency and uniformity across our clinical operations. This system, EPIC, allows for easy access to all prior clinic and hospital records, radiology images, laboratory tests and clinical information. In 2016, the HUP ED patient triage and waiting area was further renovated, to provide the best patient care possible.