Pediatric emergency care
Specialized staff provides pediatric emergency care in a kid-friendly emergency room (ER). These highly trained pediatric doctors and nurses use child-sized medical equipment to evaluate and treat your child for medical emergencies.
Pediatric emergency room (ER) in San Antonio
Specialists in our pediatric ER are ready 24/7 to provide fast, expert care for your child.
At Methodist Children's Hospital, the quality of your child's care comes first. Our physicians are board certified in pediatric emergency medicine, and our staff consists of specially trained and experienced pediatric registered nurses, who are also certified in pediatric advanced life support (PALS).
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Safe, compassionate emergency treatment for children of all ages
Your safety is our priority
At our hospital, we are focused on providing the community with the care you need, rooted in a safe, nurturing environment. In this pursuit, our team has continuously enhanced safety measures and protocols for patients, visitors, physicians and staff.
When should you bring your child to the ER
We are equipped to provide emergency pediatric care for a wide range of conditions and injuries, and recommend that you seek emergency care immediately if your child is experiencing any of these conditions:
- Body numbness, tingling or weakness
- Breathing troubles
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Dangerous or toxic ingestion
- Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
- Head injury
- Unresponsiveness
- Urgent fever
- 3 months old and younger — Any temperature greater than 100.4°F
- 3 to 6 months old — Oral temperature greater than 102°F
- 6 to 24 months old — Oral temperature greater 102°F lasting more than one day
- 2 to 17 years old — Oral temperature greater than 102°F and one or more of these factors:
- Seems unusually irritable, lethargic and uncomfortable
- Lasts longer than three days
- Doesn't respond to medication
Region's first sensory-friendly pediatric ER
We are proud to offer the community a fully-equipped emergency with the capability to care for children with sensory needs. Services we offer include:
- Menu with more than 20 sensory-friendly items, customizable for your child's specific sensory need
- Sensory-trained ER nurses and Certified Child Life Specialists at the bedside
- Specially designed treatment rooms equipped with dimmable lights and additional upgrades to promote calmness
Please let us know if your child can benefit from this program by notifying the nurse at check-in.
Call-A-Nurse Hotline
Nurses representing Methodist Children's Hospital are standing by to personally assist you with medical advice concerning your child when they are sick. If your child is having a non-life-threatening emergency and you do not need to call 911, you can call Call-A-Nurse for the appropriate advice.
Call (210) 226-8773 now to speak to a nurse in the South Texas area.
Our freestanding ER locations
In addition to our main hospital ER, we have freestanding emergency rooms located throughout our community to help provide the emergency care you need, close to home. These locations include:
What to expect at the pediatric ER
When you and your child arrive at the pediatric ER, a triage nurse will assess your child's illness or injury. You will then be asked to have a seat in our child-friendly waiting area until we are ready to see your child. Our emergency room has translation services available for anyone who does not speak English.
Please know that we will always attend to your child as quickly as we can, but if another child arrives after your child and is experiencing a more dangerous or threatening illness or injury, our care team will need to see this child before yours. Even if the waiting room is empty, you may experience a wait if the exam rooms are full or many doctors and nurses are attending to a particularly serious case.
Our care team will ask a series of questions based on your child's needs. A series of tests may need to be administered to determine the best course of care.
Cost of emergency pediatric care
The cost associated with an ER visit can be higher than a visit to an urgent care clinic or your child's pediatrician because the ER is home to a much larger care team and the most advanced, life-saving medical technology.
It also helps to be aware of your insurance benefits. If you are unsure, call your insurance company and speak with a representative who should be able to explain your benefits, costs and copays. We offer various patient financial resources to help estimate pricing for hospital services.
Visiting our children's ER
We are located on the first floor of the children's tower and offer a drive-up valet service. While most visitors choose our free valet service, you may also park in one of our parking garages. Be sure to bring a list of medications your child is currently taking with you to the ER.
Videos about our Pediatric emergency care services
Emergency room safety enhancements at Methodist Children's Hospital
We want you to know safety is our top priority. We've made numerous safety enhancements at our ER locations so that you will feel confident that your child will get the safe and proper care needed to feel healthy again.
Looking for a location?
Our Pediatric emergency care Locations