Is It An Emergency? You Can Help Reduce ER Crowding

Because of the increased number of children and adults experiencing upper respiratory infections and other similar illnesses, the Fall and Winter months are often the busiest for local hospitals and Emergency Departments. Unfortunately, the wait time in an Emergency Department for patients with non-emergency conditions such as colds, sinus infections and flu-like symptoms can be quite long, especially during this time of year.

Emergency Departments are designed to treat patients in the order of the severity of their illness or injury, not in the order they arrive. Persons experiencing a critical or life-threatening illness or injury, such as chest pain, respiratory distress or head trauma, are treated immediately upon arrival. Those with less serious ailments, such as cold and flu symptoms or sprains and strains, are treated as soon as they can be seen.

“Patients with cold and flu-like symptoms should see their family doctor first or visit one of our local Med-Stop urgent care centers for treatment,” said Laurie Darsey, RN, Nurse Manager for the Med-Stops. “By doing so, they are most likely going to receive care in a more timely manner than in the Emergency Department. Emergency Departments are really for true emergencies – those critical injuries and illnesses that need immediate attention by a highly specialized staff of medical professionals. When we are treating these critical patients, other patients may have to wait and that wait time can be several hours, especially on weekends and holidays during this busy time of year when the flu season is upon us.”

Darsey and her staff, along with the Emergency Department staff at Perry Hospital, try to educate patients not only about when to use the Emergency Department versus the doctor’s office and Med-Stop but also about why patients often experience a wait time while in the Emergency Department.

“Once a patient is in our Emergency Department, the physician will often order specific tests, such as x-rays or lab work, to diagnose the illness. These tests add time, sometimes up to several hours, to the overall visit,” explained Stacie Walker, RN, Nurse Manager of Perry Hospital’s Emergency Department. “Certain treatments such as suturing cuts, checking eye injuries or inserting special IV lines require additional time as well as attention from the physician and Emergency Department staff. When that happens, other patients with less serious symptoms have to wait.”

Houston Healthcare operates three urgent care centers, Houston Lake Med-Stop (located on Highway 127 at Moody Road), Lake Joy Med-Stop (located on Highway 96 and Lake Joy Road) and the Pavilion Med-Stop (located at Houston Mall), all staffed by a physician, registered nurse and certified medical assistants. Basic lab and x-ray services are available on-site. The Houston Lake Med-Stop is open Monday through Saturday from 7 am until 6:30 pm, Lake Joy Med-Stop is open daily from 9:30 am until 9 pm, and the Pavilion Med-Stop is open daily from 8 am until 7:30 pm.

“Our Emergency Departments at Houston Medical Center and Perry Hospital are always open and available to treat patients 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 365 days per year, and we encourage people to try their doctor’s office or one of the Med-Stop centers first as alternative before coming to the Emergency Department when they have non-emergency symptoms,” Walker said. “Our goal is to provide quality patient care in the shortest time possible. We ask that patients understand that we must see patients in the order of how critical they are, and that we strive to keep every patient’s wait time as minimal as possible.”

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