Conditions and services

Emergency conditions and services

Whether your child comes to us with a high fever or by ambulance after an accident, we’re ready to help. Take a minute to learn more about what we can do at Children’s Minnesota. If you or your child is experiencing a life-threatening emergency or injury, please call 911.

Common emergency conditions

Some illnesses and conditions we treat often include:

• Severe asthma
• Severe abdominal pain
• Fevers in infants under eight weeks old
• Frostbite
• Poison ingestions, allergic reactions
• Seizures
• Severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration
• Belly pain, nausea and vomiting and fever, due to suspected appendicitis

Services you can count on

Here are a few of the services our emergency department is known for:

• Round-the-clock care by pediatric emergency medicine physicians and nurses to provide evaluation, stabilization, treatment and care.
• Coordination with regional pediatric and neonatal transport teams with access to emergency ambulance, critical care rigs, helicopter and airplane services, including a helipad in Minneapolis.
• Child-friendly suture program for cuts and wounds.
• Pediatric sedation and pain management.
• Low-dose radiation protocols for tests such as CT scans.
• 24-hour access to top pediatric specialists in fields like orthopedics, neurology, plastic surgery and ophthalmology.
• Short stay area for short-term assessment, observation or stabilization.
• Pediatric and young adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe lung injury.
• Child abuse and neglect consultation services with Midwest Children’s Resource Center.

Walk-in care

For non-emergency illness and injuries, we offer walk-in care at many of our primary care clinics. You don’t need to call for an appointment, just come on in. Consider using walk-in care if your child has a symptom that started recently and is of a non-severe nature, including common cough or cold, fever (child older than 3 months), vomiting or diarrhea, rash, minor injury, ear pain or sore throat.

When to make an appointment instead

If your child needs a well child exam, has ongoing symptoms, or special health care needs, please make an appointment at one of our 9 primary care clinics so we can schedule an appropriate amount of time to address those needs.