You’re driving down Glenn Mitchell Drive in Virginia Beach, and your chest feels tight. Or maybe your kid just took a nasty spill off the backyard trampoline. In those moments, you aren't thinking about SEO or hospital rankings. You just want to know if the Sentara Princess Anne Hospital ER is going to take care of you quickly and if they actually know what they’re doing. Honestly, navigating the healthcare system in the 757 can feel like a maze, especially with so many Sentara signs popping up on every corner. But the Princess Anne location is a specific beast, serving a massive, growing chunk of the city near the Municipal Center and the Landstown area.
It’s a Level III Trauma Center. That sounds fancy, but what does it actually mean for you? It means they have the surgeons and the tech to handle serious stuff—think car accidents or bad falls—but if you’re dealing with something truly catastrophic, like a specialized pediatric neurosurgery case, you might eventually find yourself in an ambulance headed toward Norfolk General or CHKD.
Most people show up here expecting a ten-minute wait. That’s rarely the reality. ER wait times are a moving target. They shift based on whether a multi-car pileup just happened on I-64 or if it’s a particularly bad flu season in Virginia Beach.
The Reality of Waiting at the Princess Anne ER
Let’s be real. Nobody likes the waiting room. At Princess Anne, the "estimated wait times" you see online are just that—estimates. They represent a rolling average of the last four to six hours, not a pinky-promise of when you’ll see a doctor.
If you walk in with a broken finger but someone else is rushed in via ambulance with a suspected stroke, guess who’s going first? This is triage. It’s not "first come, first served." It’s "sickest comes first." The triage nurse is basically a high-stakes air traffic controller. They’re looking at your vitals, your pain level, and your history. If you feel like you’re being ignored, it’s usually because the staff is behind those double doors trying to stabilize someone whose heart stopped.
That doesn't make the plastic chairs any more comfortable.
When to Choose This Emergency Room Over Urgent Care
This is where most people get tripped up. Do you go to the Sentara Princess Anne Hospital ER or that urgent care center down the street by the Harris Teeter?
If you go to the ER for a sore throat that’s been nagging you for three days, you’re going to wait a long time. You’re also going to get a much larger bill. Urgent care is for the "oops" moments—minor cuts, ear infections, maybe a simple sprain.
📖 Related: How to Use Kegel Balls: What Most People Get Wrong About Pelvic Floor Training
Go to the Princess Anne ER if you have:
- Difficulty breathing or severe chest pain.
- Signs of a stroke (drooping face, arm weakness, slurred speech).
- Uncontrolled bleeding.
- High fever that won't break, especially in infants.
- Severe allergic reactions.
- Major head injuries.
Basically, if you think, "I might die or lose a limb," you go to the ER. If you think, "Man, this really hurts and I need a prescription," urgent care is your best bet.
What the "Level III Trauma" Label Actually Means for You
In the world of medical jargon, levels are everything. Sentara Princess Anne is a Level III Trauma Center, verified by the American College of Surgeons.
To get that badge, the hospital has to prove they have 24-hour immediate coverage by emergency medicine physicians and prompt availability of general surgeons and anesthesiologists. They have the gear. They have the CT scanners ready to roll. They have the blood bank stocked.
But they have limitations.
They don't have every single sub-specialty on-site 24/7. If you have a highly complex injury that requires a specialized hand surgeon or a Level I trauma team (the highest level), they will stabilize you and then transfer you. In Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Sentara Norfolk General is the "big house" for Level I trauma. Princess Anne is the frontline defense for the southern part of the city.
The Pediatric Connection: CHKD and Sentara
Parents in Virginia Beach often get confused about where to take their kids. Sentara Princess Anne is physically connected to the CHKD (Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters) health center.
👉 See also: Fruits that are good to lose weight: What you’re actually missing
This is huge.
While the ER at Princess Anne is a general ER—meaning they treat everyone from 90-year-olds to newborns—having CHKD resources right there is a massive perk. Often, pediatric specialists from CHKD are accessible for consultations. If your child has a specialized condition, the ER team here is used to coordinating with the folks at King's Daughters. It’s a symbiotic relationship that makes the southern end of Virginia Beach a lot safer for families.
Navigation and Logistics: Getting in and Out
Parking at hospitals is usually a nightmare, but Princess Anne is relatively modern. The campus is sprawling, which is great for space but bad if you’re trying to find the ER entrance while panicked.
The ER entrance is clearly marked with the big red signs. Don't try to go through the main hospital lobby if it's after hours; you'll just end up walking in circles. There’s a dedicated drop-off lane right at the ER doors. Use it. Have someone else move the car to the main lot once you’re checked in.
Inside, expect the usual: security guards, a metal detector (standard practice now for safety), and a check-in desk. Have your ID and insurance card ready, but don't worry if you don't have them in a life-or-death situation. Federal law (EMTALA) requires them to stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay or your paperwork status.
Common Misconceptions About ER Bills
Let’s talk money, because it’s the elephant in the room. Sentara is a non-profit system, but "non-profit" doesn't mean "free."
People often get two separate bills. One is from the hospital (Sentara) for the "room and board," the nurses, the tech, and the supplies. The other is from the doctor. Most ER doctors are part of a private group (like Bayview Physicians or similar) that contracts with the hospital.
✨ Don't miss: Resistance Bands Workout: Why Your Gym Memberships Are Feeling Extra Expensive Lately
If you get a bill that looks insane, don't just pay it. Ask for an itemized statement. Look for "upcoding," which is when a simple visit is billed as a high-complexity one. If you’re uninsured or underinsured, Sentara has financial assistance programs. You have to ask for them, though. They won't just hand you a discount because you look like a nice person.
The Mental Health Crisis in the ER
It's a reality across the country, and Virginia Beach isn't immune. A lot of the people you see in the ER waiting room at Princess Anne aren't there for physical injuries. They’re in a mental health crisis.
The ER has become the "safety net" for psychiatric care. This can sometimes lead to longer wait times because patients in crisis require specialized monitoring and "sitters" to ensure their safety. If you're there for a broken leg and see someone being escorted by police or security, that’s likely what’s happening. The staff is managing a very delicate balance between physical emergencies and psychiatric ones.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Visit
If you find yourself needing the Sentara Princess Anne Hospital ER, do these things to make the experience less of a headache:
- Bring a List: Keep a note on your phone with your current medications and allergies. In a crisis, your brain will go blank.
- Be Honest: Don't downplay your symptoms to be "polite," and don't exaggerate them to "get seen faster." Nurses see right through the latter, and the former could kill you.
- Use the App: Sentara has an app (Sentara MyChart). You can often see "live" wait times there. Take them with a grain of salt, but use them to decide if you should drive an extra ten minutes to a different facility.
- Bring a Charger: Seriously. You might be there for six hours. A dead phone makes a stressful situation feel a lot more isolated.
- Ask for a Patient Advocate: If you feel like things are going sideways or you aren't being heard, ask to speak with the Charge Nurse or a Patient Advocate. Every hospital has them. They are there to smooth over the friction between the overworked staff and the stressed-out patients.
The Sentara Princess Anne ER is a high-volume, high-intensity environment. It’s staffed by people who live in your neighborhoods—Sandbridge, Red Mill, Lago Mar. They’re doing their best in a system that’s often stretched thin. Knowing how the system works before you're in the back of an ambulance makes a world of difference.
If it’s a true emergency, stop reading and go. If you’re just planning ahead, keep these notes in the back of your mind for when the "oops" moments of life eventually happen.