AHN.COM Offers Live 'ER' Webcast

None of the real-life drama portrayed on the television show ER could stack up to the real thing. So AHN.COM , the health web site that drew 1.1 million viewers with the first live Internet birth, is stepping up to the challenge.

According to a press release from AHN.COM, the web site will make history again on Friday with a live 12-hour webcast from one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country. Starting at 1pm EST, AHN.COM's Trauma Center Live will provide continuous coverage of emergencies at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas. The hospital is part of the Harris County Hospital District system and a teaching hospital for the Baylor College of Medicine.

The event will be narrated by five physicians, many of which host medical shows on AHN.COM's cable television counterpart, America's Health Network. Doctors such as ER physician and host of Women & Children First. Winnie King and Dr. Alix Casler, host of Ask the Pediatrician," will provide commentary and valuable information that can be used by viewers in case of an emergency.

"We expect to see a variety of emergencies, including victims of automobile accidents, gun shots, assaults, stabbings and injuries due to falls," said Diane Mangrum, director of emergency and pediatric services at Ben Taub.

The Taub ER sees approximately 300 patients daily and more than 100,000 a year. More than 90 million seek treatment in America's emergency rooms each year, according to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics.

AHN.COM will use five wireless cameras to cover the live event, sending that signal to a satellite and then through the Internet to a world-wide audience. The webcast is part of an ongoing series of live medical events that included an open heart surgery, hair transplant, and LASIK eye surgery.

"AHN.COM is airing this event, like the live birth, to educate and inform," said J. Tod Fetherling, president of AHN.COM.