UNC Health Nash Emergency Department & Hospital Seeing High Volume
Visitor Restrictions in Place for Emergency Department
ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina (December 30, 2025) – Due to the UNC Health Nash Emergency Department and Hospital seeing high patient volumes, visitor restrictions are being implemented in the Emergency Department. Effective immediately, UNC Nash will limit one visitor per patient in the Emergency Department due to space limitations. As of now, visitation inside the main hospital for admitted patients remains unchanged, but if there are any changes to this, they will be announced through a media release, the UNC Nash website and official social channels.
While the UNC Health Nash Emergency Department team stands ready to take care of patients with emergent needs, they also want to be sure patients who do not need emergency medical care find the services they need in the appropriate care setting.
UNC Health Nash Emergency Department Director Meredith Denton provided the information below to help patients determine the best care setting for a variety of medical situations.
| Emergency Room |
Urgent Care or Primary Care |
- Severe Chest Pain
- (Signs of) Heart Attack
- (Signs of) Stroke
- Compound fracture (bone protrudes through skin)
- Heavy, uncontrollable breathing
- Deep knife wounds or gunshot wounds
- Moderate to severe burns
- Difficulty breathing / Shortness of breath
- Severe Abdominal Pain
- Poisoning
- Allergic reactions
- High Fevers (especially in newborns- less than 3 months old)
- Convulsions, seizures or loss of consciousness
- Serious head, neck or back injury/ paralysis
- Pregnancy-related problems
- Suicidal or homicidal feelings
|
- Minor Back Pain
- Minor lacerations and sutures
- Sick Visits
- Bronchitis
- Mild asthma
- Sports and camp physicals
- DOT physicals
- Sprain/ broken bones
- Flu / Cold symptoms
- Minor burns / wound care
- Seasonal allergies
- Animal / Insect bites / stings
- Skin rash / poison ivy
- Vomiting / diarrhea
- Urinary Tract Infections / Painful urination
|
Denton reminds the public that UNC Health Nash has an urgent care conveniently located at 550 N. Winstead Avenue in Rocky Mount, which is situated at the entrance to the UNC Nash campus. UNC Health Nash Urgent Care is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but will be closed on Thursday, January 1 for New Year’s Day. Denton says the clinic is designed to serve those needing immediate attention for non-life-threatening conditions, such as minor cuts, sprains, cold and flu symptoms and other common ailments. She added the facility provides a timesaving, cost-effective alternative for individuals seeking same-day treatment outside of the emergency department.
Denton also wants the community to know that prevention is key to stopping the spread of germs this cold and flu season.
“Washing your hands properly and often is one of the best lines of defense we have for stopping the spread of germs,” she said. “In addition to proper hand hygiene, staying home when you feel sick, if you do not need medical care, is also important. As flu cases continue to rise, it’s important now more than ever to put these into practice in order to reduce the spread.”
For more information about UNC Health Nash’s Emergency Department or Urgent Care, please visit: www.UNCHealthNash.com.
