Emergency Care for Kids

How to Choose the Best ER

To receive good medical care when an emergency strikes, it's crucial to know which ERs are best in your area. "The most important thing to do is find out which local facilities have emergency physicians who are certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and are available twenty-four hours a day," says Robert McNamara, M.D., president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and chief of emergency medicine at Temple University Hospital, in Philadelphia. "You should ask if specialists will always be available."

The AAEM's Web site (www. 911emergency.org) helps you identify local ERs staffed by board-certified physicians. And the American College of Emergency Physicians provides a checklist to evaluate the emergency care offered by your health-insurance plan. Log on to www.acep.org, click on "Public," then "Brochures and Handouts." Or call 800-798-1822.