Patients are waiting longer and longer to be seen in America’s emergency rooms…and some are dying while they wait! A recent report from the journal Health Affairs confirms what we all have experienced. Emergency rooms are crowded, under-staffed, and the time from arrival to examination by a physician is too long.
The report concludes that 50% of all emergency rooms patients waited an average of 30 minutes or longer before seeing a doctor. Even patients suffering from chest pain and potential heart attacks are not seen in a timely fashion, half of these patients are not seen within 20 minutes of arrival at the emergency room. Sadly, the wait times are even longer for blacks and Hispanics according to the report.
I know this blog is read by our area hospital administrators. How about it Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County, Danville Regional Medical Center, Stonewall Jackson Hospital, Carilion New River Valley Hospital, Montgomery Regional Hospital, Wellmont Bristol Regional Hospital, Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital, Alleghany Regional Hospital, Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital , Tazewell Community Hospital….
What is the wait time in your hospital’s emergency room?