Act Fast, Call 911
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you have a life-threatening illness or injury.
Emergency Medicine
If you have a life-threatening emergency, dial 911.
The Joseph C. Corkery Emergency Center
NOTICE: Due to an increased demand in emergency services, wait times may be longer than usual. We appreciate your patience. Learn about getting the right care at the right place.
Routine COVID-19 testing for people without COVID symptoms is NOT available in our Emergency Department. If you need a COVID-19 test, please visit a COVID-19 testing site or use an at-home test. Review our Emergency Department Visitor Policy.
The Joseph C. Corkery Emergency Center at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center offers advanced emergency care in a facility built specifically to meet the needs of our community. Our services are geared to adult patients, and we offer limited pediatric emergency and obstetrical emergency care.
Our team includes full-time, board-certified emergency physicians and nurses with extensive training in emergency medicine. As the only Level I trauma center north of Boston, we are uniquely qualified to provide time-sensitive, critical care for hundreds of thousands of people in our region.
Our new expanded facility is the result of extensive research and planning. It features:
- 36 private rooms with space for family members to stay with patients
- An advanced imaging suite for CT scans and X-rays
- Comfortable waiting areas
- Enhanced infection and decontamination areas
- Four trauma bays with passageways between the rooms to allow doctors easy access to multiple patients at a time
- Free, convenient parking
- Three private exam rooms for patients in need of behavioral health services
In This Section
Fast Track Triage
If your illness or injury is not life-threatening, our fast track triage area provides you with improved access to care and less time spent in the waiting room. Our triage nurses can order X-rays, tests and lab work so the results are ready when you see the doctor. We’ve streamlined our processes to be more efficient and allow us to concentrate on your health needs.
Comprehensive Coordinated Care
We use the Epic Electronic Health Record system so our specialists can access your medical history easily to see test results, physician notes and other details that can help in your diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.
If your illness or injury requires additional care, we help you schedule the appointments and tests you need. Our team includes social workers, therapists and home health aides whose main goal is your improved health.
Emergency Medicine Residency
We're training tomorrow's leaders in emergency medicine, and we take that responsibility seriously as we deliver the best possible care to our patients.
We are proud to be a teaching hospital where residents from the Boston University Emergency Medicine Program complete rotations during their second and fourth years of study. This means our team is well-versed in the latest, most innovative diagnosis and treatment options.
ER vs. Urgent Care
If you need medical attention quickly, you may be unsure where to go—to an urgent care facility or an emergency room. That’s why we’ve developed the following guidelines to help.
When to Go to the Emergency Room
You may be experiencing a medical emergency and should call 911 or go immediately to an emergency room if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Arm weakness
- Bleeding that won’t stop
- Blood in your stool
- Chest pain
- Coughing or vomiting blood
- Difficulty breathing
- Face drooping and difficulty speaking
- Loss of consciousness
- Multiple injuries
- Pregnancy-related bleeding or cramping
- Severe abdominal pain
- Severe burns
- Severe or unusual headache
- Slurred speech
When to Go to Urgent Care
Urgent care is a good option if you need medical attention when your primary care doctor isn’t available, such as after office hours, on weekends or holidays.
Conditions that can be diagnosed and treated at urgent care facilities include:
- Cuts and lacerations
- Ear infections
- Fever
- Flu
- Minor burns
- Respiratory infections
- Sports injuries
- STD and pregnancy testing
- Workplace injuries
If your illness is not life-threatening, an urgent care facility gives you an alternative for care that can save you both time and money.
Tour Our Emergency Department
Tips for Choosing Care
Depending on your illness or injury, you can save time and money going to urgent care or your primary care doctor.
