SMITHBITS RADIO MAGAZINE

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Memphis Medical Emergency Rooms Getting Overcrowded Again


MEMPHIS TN (IFS) -- According to some RN's in the Memphis area, the ER rooms are getting overloaded again.  It appears that some people would opt-out to pay the monthly premium and pay the medical penalty to the IRS, as they are finding out that the ER's are placing the easy-out cases upfront, and letting the harder cases to be pushed to a later hour in the triage chain.  It's all about statistics, and nothing about the quality of care for the patients.  According to several ER news sites, the following report is given for last year's ER. . .
". . .These are the average time from entering the ER to being admitted to the hospital by a doctor. In a busy ER, patients will be seen by a triage nurse first. Then the wait time will vary by severity, and how busy the ER is at the time of day. Patients with less serious problems could have substantially longer waits.
There is a 48 minute wait difference between the fastest Memphis emergency room and the slowest.

Stories

Jan 01, 2015, 10:17 PM
WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee Leconte Medical Center: "I recently visited the ER at Leconte Medical Center. While the facilities are exemplary the service which is most important facet of any business is lacking.\r\n\r\nI came to the ER arriving at 5:30 on January 1sr with symptoms of a kidney stone that had been going on for the last 20-24 hours. While I have had blood drawn and a urine test at the 2 1/2 hour mark we remain in the ER awaiting our first consultation with a PA or MD. We have been here for over 4 1/2 hours now and haven't been called back. \r\n\r\nMy wife is extremely uncomfortable. While it is not a life threatening issue I have seen so many people proceed us in getting seen. I understand the triage process that prioritized patients depending in condition and seriousness of ailments, I am confident many people here not facing any more serious ailments. \r\n\r\n5 hours to be seen is excessive and is a poor example of adequate staffing and resource management by this for profit business. Why is it that the medical community expects everyone to be patient beyond a sense of reasonableness and reality? Because there is not adequate accountability measures and alternative options readily available. The fact is the alternstive optionsost likely would be the same or worse. \r\n\r\nSincerely \r\n\r\nBeth Piper \r\n865-755-2101" - Beth 


Memphis hospitals above national average for ER wait times

Posted: Jan 03, 2014 5:08 PM CSTUpdated: Jan 03, 2014 5:08 PM CST

The highest in the state is over in Nashville at Vanderbilt where the average wait time is 78 minutes.The highest in the state is over in Nashville at Vanderbilt where the average wait time is 78 minutes.

Baptist Memorial Memphis emergency room manager Melanie MaysBaptist Memorial Memphis emergency room manager Melanie Mays
(WMC-TV) - Emergency room wait times could be the difference between life or death. New research reveals some Memphis hospitals are above the national average, which is 28 minutes.
"We have swings up and down in our census, and this December we've seen almost 1,000 patients more than we did last December," said Baptist Memorial Memphis emergency room manager Melanie Mays. "Our goal is really to pull directly to a room ... Your emergency is our emergency. We understand that you're not coming here to clog up the emergency room, you're coming here because we are your first choice or last resort."
Thanks to her leadership efforts, the hospital has dropped wait time significantly in one year— averaging just 39 minutes. It is one of the lowest in Memphis city limits.
Methodist Hospital Memphis ranks highest with an average wait time of 55 minutes. The Regional Medical Center (The MED) is slightly lower at 54 minutes. And behind those two sits St. Francis at 51 minutes.
The highest in the state is over in Nashville at Vanderbilt where the average wait time is 78 minutes.
The list is compiled by ProPublica.org. It measures are based on a year's worth of data that is updated quarterly. The last update was December 12 of last year.
Baptist Memorial says they have worked hard to reduce wait time and improve patient satisfaction.
"We have a great team of nurses and doctors here and it is our goal, we all have an aligned goal, it's patient care," said Mays.
The MED released the following statement:
Home to the only Level 1 Trauma Center in this region, Regional Medical Center's emergency department is a busy one. Providing exceptional services and compassionate care in a timely manner to all patients in the emergency department is very important to Regional Medical Center. In recent years, hospital staff has worked on several process improvement projects to speed the patient's flow through the emergency department. While progress has been made in the reduction of wait times, we are constantly looking at our processes to make improvements for our patients.
Methodist released the following statement:
"We understand when you have an urgent health care need, the last thing you want to do is wait. Having some of the busiest emergency departments in the city, Methodist is always looking at ways we can improve the service we provide our patients and their families.
In 2011, Methodist was the first hospital systems in the Mid-South to develop an app to allow residents to determine which Methodist Hospital emergency room has the shortest wait time. Up-to-the-minute emergency room wait times are also available on the main page our web site www.methodisthealth.org.
In addition, we are in the process of building a $33 million replacement emergency department at our flagship Methodist University Hospital. The project is slated to be completed in August of this year, and will allow us to better serve patients and their families, as well as increase efficiency. We are also looking at ways we can improve the wait times across the rest of our system, ensuring the best possible care." - Michael Ugwueke, COO, Methodist Healthcare
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