The Emergency Services staff is capable of instituting essential life saving measures and implementing emergency procedures that will minimize further compromise of the patient being admitted or transferred. A special triage area is designed to prioritize patients based upon the seriousness of the emergency.

Air ambulance services from Atlanta, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Asheville are available to provide rapid transportation of patients to major hospitals in critical/trauma situations. These air ambulances are fully equipped with sophisticated life-support systems.

The department sponsors the Advanced Life Support pre-hospital care program for Cherokee and Clay counties, and is responsible for medical control and quality improvement. The Emergency Services physicians serve as the supervisory physicians for the Mid-Level Practitioners at the Murphy Medical Center Urgent Care Center, and the hospital serves as their referral and consultation center.