For many years, the emergency service has been the most neglected and often the weakest department in the hospital. Administrators look on it as a drain of resources; physicians debate the proper staffing. Increased use, however, has created pressures on the hospital and medical staff to provide a more adequate service. Emergency Department Statistics The number of emergency department visits has increased faster than either hospital inpatient admissions or outpatient visits, and indications are that these trends will continue at a growing rate. A recent review ofGuide Issuesof the American Hospital Association for 1954-1964 shows that emergency department visits increased by 16 million, or 175% in that period.1The earlier Cornell Trauma Research Group Study of 300 hospitals in the United States reported that a 120% increase in emergency department visits occurred while inpatient admissions increased 56% during the period 1944-1951.2A study of 90 Midwest