Emergency Departments

We provide 24/7 Emergency Departments at both the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital Site and the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital Site.  A team of providers including doctors and nurses aim to provide the best possible emergency care.  Excellent staff and up-to-date equipment ensure patients receive quality care including triage, resuscitation, trauma, surgical and medical care.  The District Stroke Centre at the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital Site has specific expertise in assessing and treating anyone who shows the signs or symptoms of stroke.  Patients who are critically ill or need specialized services may be transferred to another hospital once they are stable.

If you use our emergency services, you will be assessed by a triage nurse when you arrive.  Our goal is to minimize wait times, but the most severe and urgent cases must be seen first.  Please be patient if you are waiting to be seen.  Let the nurse know if there is any change in your condition.

Arrival to Emergency

Please bring the following with you:

• Valid Ontario Health Card or insurance documentation
• Current home address and contact information for your next of kin
• WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) claim number, Social Insurance Number and accident date and details if your visit is related to a workplace injury or illness
• All medications (packaged in a zip-lock plastic bag) or a current list of your medications, with doses and times taken

Special Precautions When Visiting the Emergency Department

Help us to stop spread infection by:

• Advising a staff member in the Emergency Department if you have diarrhea
• Wearing a mask if you are coughing or sneezing
• Wearing a mask, if you have a cough and a fever combined
• Using the hand sanitizers when you enter or leave the hospital, and after you use the washrooms

If You Are Accompanying a Patient to the Emergency Department

Please note that only one visitor per patient is permitted in the Emergency Department.  All cell phones must be turned off.  Visitors may be asked to wait in the waiting area while you are being examined, or receiving care.  Anyone 16 years of age and older is triaged independently in confidence. Family will be consulted once the triage process is completed if there are additional concerns.  These precautions help us to give you the best possible care.

Wait Times

The provincial government developed Ontario's Wait Time Strategy to create a system of accountability through transparent reporting of wait time information. Wait time statistics - and more specifically time spent in Emergency Departments information - for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare or any other hospital organization is available on the Health Quality Ontario website.