Triage 

Triage is performed by an experienced and licensed registered nurse and occurs very soon after arrival.  Care is delivered to all patients regardless of culture, beliefs, conscientious convictions, sexual orientation, or disability and privacy will be respected at all times. 

Triage is the first step in the assessment of your physical condition.  A registered nurse will record your vital signs:  temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.  You will be asked questions about your current symptoms and medical history.  At the conclusion of the triage process, you will be assigned a level of priority on a scale of 1 to 5 using the Emergency Severity Index (ESI).  An ESI level of 1 is the highest priority of treatment in our department while an ESI level of 5 is considered less urgent. 

Priority of patients to be seen is determined by triage level assigned to the patient, not by the order of arrival to the emergency room.  This is an ever changing process.