Matthew Grounds
Free Emergency Room/Trauma
The role of an emergency department doctor includes seeing everyone
from a newborn baby to a person who’s 110 years old and treatment of
the wide variety of medical conditions that come through the door.
It’s that variety that led Dr. Matthew Grounds to his calling.
“I enjoyed every rotation I had when I was in medical school. Whether it
was internal medicine, surgery, cardiology, you name it, I liked all of it,” he
said. “I realized that if you wrap it all together, that’s emergency medicine.”
Today, as the director of emergency medicine and trauma services,
Dr. Grounds oversees the clinical and administrative operations of the
emergency department. It’s unpredictable work and each day presents
new challenges, but he said the hardworking, dedicated people at Freeman
make it possible to always deliver the best in patient care.
“The team at Freeman is outstanding, and this emergency department
represents the best of all the required staff available,” Dr. Grounds said. “The
support of Freeman leadership to each clinical staff member is paramount
for a patient-centered team.”
Dr. Grounds said his favorite part of the day always has been and always
will be the direct bedside patient care.
“It’s most rewarding to me when I can sit down and just have a
conversation with my patients and build that relationship,” he said. “For
me, it comes down to treating my patients like family. If this patient was
my wife, daughter, son, mother, father, sister or brother, how would I treat
them or want them to be treated?”
Which leads to the next challenge Dr. Grounds faces in the emergency
room – sometimes the fast-paced nature of the job means getting right
down to business.
“There are times we have to get a patient to trust us in a matter
of seconds so we can appropriately save their life,” he said. “It can
be difficult, but that’s what we’re here for – to save lives.”
At work, Dr. Grounds thrives on the fast-paced environment of the
emergency department, but in his free time, he enjoys a slower way of life.
You can usually find him tending