County General's emergency room is where trauma patients requiring immediate medical attention are first treated. As trauma alone cannot keep a department running, it is also used for treating non-emergency patients that do not need to go to the hospital's more specialized departments.
History[]
Before the 1960s, County did not have an ER. Dr. Oliver Kostin was the one who both envisioned and designed an entirely new department, hoping to turn County into an urban trauma center.[1]
In recent history, the ER has been subject to various redesigns over the years.[2][3][4][5] The redesign in 2002 involved the placement of metal detectors, demanded by a staff walk-out led by Chief Resident John Carter after an incident involving a patient taking several staffers hostage at gunpoint,[3] while the 2007 redesign was required due to dated and unsafe architecture, and required the department to close for several weeks.[5]
Despite County General's persisting budget problems, the ER displayed an apt budgetary performance after Kerry Weaver came to power as department head in 1997,[6] temporarily replacing David Morgenstern, who had stepped down after suffering a heart attack.[7]
Weaver's tenure was interrupted when in 1998, a doctor named Amanda Lee became Morgenstern's replacement.[8] Unfortunately, it was later revealed that Lee was actually a fraud and a psychopath who had impersonated many others in the past.[9] After that, Robert Romano temporarily headed the ER.[10], However, in 1999, Weaver finally became department head on a permanent basis and during her time there, oversaw many of the ER's redesigns.[11]
Following Robert Romano's appointment to department head in 2003,[12] his appointment caused the human records resources to drop sharply due to his abrasive, confrontational and even bigoted demeanor, and a full investigation on his behavior was launched in 2004,[13] although Romano had died earlier from a helicopter crashing onto the hospital's rooftop.[14]
After Romano's death, Susan Lewis sought to restore and became the new head of the department, although she struggled with it.[15] After Lewis left the ER for good,[16] Dr. Luka Kovač became the new head of the department,[17] but his administration was marred by the disastrous hiring of Dr. Dr. Victor Clemente, who later left after being diagnosed with PTSD.[18]
In 2006, a severe shooting incident occurred as a result of Samantha Taggart's ex returning to kidnap both her and her young son, Alex.[19] The resulting shootout left many ER staff members, including Dr. Abby Lockhart and Dr. Kovač, injured, while also resulting in the early, premature birth of Abby and Luka's son.[20]
In 2007, unhappy with hospital politics and after being forced to let Weaver go due to budget cuts,[21][22] Kovač quits.[5] As a result, the ER and its staff soon went through many department heads. Moretti quits after less than a year in the role to deal with personal problems concerning his son, who was bipolar.[23] After Moretti's departure, Dr. Skye Wexlater joined the team as acting chief during the Season 14 episode.[24]
Although Dr. Greg Pratt had been appointed department head, things ended in tragedy when Pratt died from injuries sustained in an ambulance explosion that the Turkish mafia had caused.[25]
After Pratt's unexpected death, Dr. Cate Banfield joined the staff and has lead the ER, presumably to this day.[26]
Chiefs of Emergency Medicine[]
- unknown - 1995: David Morgenstern
- 1995: William Swift
- 1995 - 1998: David Morgenstern
- 1997 - 1998: Kerry Weaver (acting/interim)
- 1998 - 1999: Amanda Lee
- 1999: Robert Romano (acting)
- 1999 - 2003: Kerry Weaver
- 2003: Robert Romano
- 2004 - 2005: Susan Lewis
- 2005 - 2007: Luka Kovač
- 2007: Kevin Moretti
- 2007 - 2008: Skye Wexler (acting)
- 2008 - present: Cate Banfield
Chief residents[]
- 1994 - 1995: Mark Greene
- 1995 - 1996: Kerry Weaver
- 1996 - 2001: unknown
- 2001: Jing-Mei Chen
- 2001 - 2003: John Carter
- 2003 - 2005: unknown
- 2005 - 2006: Archie Morris
- 2006 - present: unknown
Known Attending Physicians[]
- unknown - 1995: Marty Cannon
- unknown - 1998 : David Morgenstern
- 1995 - 2002: Mark Greene
- 1996 - 2007 : Kerry Weaver
- 1999 - 2008: Luka Kovač
- 2001 - 2005: Susan Lewis
- 2002 - 2004: Jing-Mei Chen
- 2004 - 2005: John Carter
- 2006 - 2008: Greg Pratt
- 2006 - present: Archie Morris
- 2008 - present: Simon Brenner
- 2008 - present: Cate Banfield
- 2008: Abby Lockhart
References[]
- ↑ A Long, Strange Trip, 15x14
- ↑ Homecoming, 7x01
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Insurrection, 9x03
- ↑ Now What?, 10x01
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lights Out, 13x20
- ↑ Friendly Fire, 4x03
- ↑ Ambush, 4x01
- ↑ Hazed and Confused, 5x07
- ↑ Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee, 5x11
- ↑ Double Blind, 5x12
- ↑ Leave it to Weaver, 6x01
- ↑ Finders Keepers, 9x18
- ↑ Impulse Control, 10x14
- ↑ Freefall, 10x08
- ↑ Try Carter, 11x03
- ↑ Wake Up, 12x05
- ↑ All About Christmas Eve, 12x10
- ↑ The Gallant Hero & The Tragic Victor, 12x21
- ↑ Twenty-One Guns, 12x22
- ↑ Bloodline, 13x01
- ↑ Breach of Trust, 13x12
- ↑ A House Divided, 13x13
- ↑ Coming Home, 14x08
- ↑ Skye's the Limit, 14x09
- ↑ Life After Death, 15x01
- ↑ Another Thursday at County, 15x02