Health & Fitness
Emergencies with an ETA: Medical Help at & near SFO
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center is the official destination for emergencies at the San Francisco International Airport, and the major receiving hospital for most emergencies on the Peninsula.
On an ordinary morning in Mills-Peninsula Medical Center’s Emergency Department, Michael Bresler, M.D., and Robert Argand, M.D., prepare for their shift during a moment of relative calm before the storm. This newly opened Emergency Department at the new hospital in Burlingame has the capacity to accommodate 50,000 visits every year.
“To work in emergency medicine, you have to not be rattled by a very loud, confusing and chaotic environment where you never know what’s going to happen next,” Dr. Bresler says. “You have to be exhilarated by it.”
Because Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (at 1501 Trousdale Avenue in Burlingame) is the official destination for emergencies at the San Francisco International Airport, people in medical distress sometimes arrive in town by airplane before coming to the hospital by ambulance. Mills-Peninsula is the major receiving hospital for most emergencies on the Peninsula, with centers for acute stroke and cardiac care.
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“On a daily basis, we see travelers who are in dire straits from all over the world,” Dr. Argand said. “It’s a little like the United Nations – every type of culture, language and problem can show up at any minute – which puts us on the front lines of world medicine.”
What sorts of emergencies merit a 911 call and trip to the ER? Serious injuries, illnesses and symptoms, including:
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- chest pain
- numbness in the face, arm or leg
- difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- severe abdominal pain
- sudden dizziness, weakness
- sudden blurred vision
- loss of balance or coordination
- seizures
Medical Services at San Francisco Airport (SFO)
Not all medical needs require a trip to the Emergency Room, so people traveling through SFO have another option: the SFO Medical Clinic at the San Francisco International Airport (in International Terminal Level 3, A Side). There, travelers can stay healthy on the road with access to a range of services, including Travel Medicine (immunizations), Urgent Care (fevers, rashes, sore throats, etc.) and Occupational Health.
