Emergency Medicine

East Tennessee Emergency Care

The Emergency Department at East Tennessee Children's Hospital provides highly specialized, emergency care for infants, children and teens, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because we treat more children needing emergency care than anyone else in East Tennessee, our doctors and nurses are equipped to treat everything from minor injuries to major medical concerns.

The Emergency Department was designed specifically with children in mind. The décor is kid-friendly, which helps children feel more comfortable during their hospital visit. Unlike adult hospitals, our Emergency Department has equipment made to fit growing bodies - from smaller needles and anesthesia masks to breathing tubes and blood pressure cuffs. In fact, many young patients who are initially taken to nearby adult hospitals are then transferred to Children's Hospital because we are better equipped to handle their special needs.

Our emergency facilities are the only in the city to offer the services of Child Life Specialists who help our patients cope with the anxiety of being in the Emergency Department. They are there to distract children during painful procedures, talk patients and their family through each aspect of treatment, and be an advocate for the child throughout their stay. We also have translation services available 24/7 to help anyone coming to Children's Hospital to fully understand a child's condition and treatment.

Urgent Care or Emergency?

Even healthy kids get hurt or sick sometimes. Different problems require different levels of care. How do you decide what is urgent versus emergent?

Reasons to go to Children's Hospital Urgent Care

Fever
Ear pain
Abdominal pain
Headache
Rash
Mild wheezing
Persistent cough
Cuts or minor burn
Suspected sprain or fracture
Vomiting or diarrhea
Sore throat
Infected bug bite
Minor animal bite
Mild allergic reaction
Urinary infection

Reasons to go to Children's Hospital Emergency Room

Severe difficulty breathing
Change in mental status (unusually sleepy or difficult to wake, disoriented, or confused)
Excessive bleeding
Stiff neck and fever
Continuous rapid heartbeat
Ingestion of poisonous substance
Ingestion of excessive medication
Severe head injury
Medical device malfunction
Infant (< 2 mo.) with fever
Severe dental trauma
Penetrating eye trauma
Neonatal jaundice

Location and Parking

Children's Hospital's Emergency Department is located at 2018 Clinch Ave. Knoxville, TN 37916. Parking for the Emergency Department is available in Parking Garage A (Click for Directions), which is close and convenient to the Emergency Department lobby entrance.