Emergency Care

Our six Charleston emergency rooms rank in the top 25% in the nation for wait times and efficiency and the top 10% for patient satisfaction. Whether it’s a sports injury, life-threatening heart attack, stroke or anything in between, our emergency care team focuses on you from the moment you arrive. Armed with the vast resources of the entire Roper St. Francis Healthcare system, our team can quickly and efficiently get you the treatment that you need.

Your healthcare is your choice, even in an emergency. When medically appropriate, you can choose to be taken to a Roper St. Francis Healthcare emergency room in any of our Charleston, SC locations. 

There are symptoms and injuries that clearly require emergency care. But what should you do in the case of your more common injuries and illnesses? If you find yourself or a loved one in need of emergency care, call 911.

• Irregular breathing pattern or difficulty breathing
• Unusual abdominal pain
• Difficulty speaking
• Fainting spells, dizziness, weakness or blurred vision
• Pain, pressure or tightness in the chest and/or abdominal area
• Sudden change in mental status (confusion, irritation, unusual behavior, suicidal or homicidal feelings)
• Sudden and severe pain
• Excessive bleeding that will not stop
• Coughing or vomiting up blood

For those situations that are not life-threatening, but you need to see a doctor right away, Roper St. Francis Healthcare has several Express Care locations throughout the Lowcountry that are open late and on weekends.

LifeLink is our emergency ground transport service. Our transport team is dedicated to providing specialized intensive care, advanced and basic life support, and is focused on patient care and community health. Our team provides support, instruction, care and treatment from the moment a request for transport is initiated until the patient’s care is transferred to the receiving healthcare facility.

The helicopter is our critical care air transport. The helicopter allows us to decrease patient load and unload time by 15 minutes - the difference between life and/or quality of life and to bring access to rural areas. The Roper Hospital Rooftop Helipad was the first of its kind on the Charleston peninsula.

For more information about our emergency transport services, please call LifeLink at (843) 402-1335.