Community Feels Effects of Emergency Room Overcrowding
The overcrowding of emergency departments nationwide continues to be a problem, and hospitals across Louisiana, including North Oaks Medical Center, also are feeling the effects.

According to a 2005 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), visits to emergency rooms (ERs) increased 20 percent over the previous decade, but the number of ERs available to treat patients decreased by 9 percent over the same time period.

Louisiana health care professionals are seeing the nation’s ER problems mirrored in the regional area. President and CEO of the Louisiana Hospital Association John Matessino helps explain the situation, stating “Hospital emergency departments are a critical part of our health care safety net, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Overcrowding occurs for many reasons, including individuals seeking non-urgent care in the ER instead of visiting a primary care physician, fewer ERs overall nationwide, the healthcare worker shortage, population growth, sicker patients and an aging population.”

“An increase in the number of uninsured patients seeking care also is contributing to a growing crisis in Louisiana’s hospital ERs. ERs are often seen as the ‘providers of last resort’ for people with no other access to medical care, including the poor, the uninsured and rural residents,” explains Matessino.

North Oaks has the second busiest ER in Louisiana in terms of volume. According to Jay Smith, MD, Medical Director of the Emergency Department, the numbers have increased by more than 6 percent since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “The situation here is compounded by problems facing hospitals throughout southeast Louisiana since Katrina – a shortage of inpatient beds and a shortage of physician specialty and sub-specialty care. We’re responding to the need for additional inpatient beds with our current expansion project and continuing efforts to improve patient flow throughout the system,” states Smith.

Complicating the present situation here is a seasonal increase in upper respiratory illnesses and flu activity. As a result, acute care hospitals from Slidell to Lake Charles are seeing many of these cases in their ERs. Additional patients and a lack of inpatient beds can create a log jam in the system that leads to longer wait times and limited privacy.

Many conditions do not require a visit to the ER and may be better treated at urgent care or walk-in facilities. The CDC reports that approximately 40 percent of ER patients could be treated appropriately at these facilities, freeing ER staff and facilities for true emergencies.

Urgent care/walk-in clinics are equipped to provide treatment for a variety of minor injuries and illnesses, and like the ER, appointments are not required. They are useful because most have extended and weekend hours for patients who need to be treated outside of normal business hours, or when they cannot visit their family doctor. Another benefit is that out-of-pocket costs and insurance co-pays may be smaller for walk-in clinic visits.

According to a 2006 study by Press Ganey, a leader in healthcare satisfaction and improvement, the nationwide average ER wait time is 3.7 hours. Patients who do not require emergency care but choose to visit an ER for treatment may wait even longer.

“The severity of a patient’s medical condition determines the wait time in the ER. In other words, the sickest patients are treated first in the ER. Those requiring less intensive medical care are treated next,” explains Smith. The ER is best-equipped and staffed for true emergencies such as heart attacks, pneumonia, trauma and other life threatening conditions. Being treated at an ER also allows for quick access to surgery and critical care units.

The public is asked during this nationwide crisis to use the appropriate venue to seek medical treatment. “As always, the North Oaks Emergency Department team is available, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year to meet your emergency medical needs,” Smith adds.