Jan 1, 2009 5:06 pm US/Eastern
Hospitals Ready For New ER Changes
Hospitals Can't Turn Away Ambulances From Overcrowded ERs
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The
Massachusetts Hospital Association says hospitals are prepared to meet the demands of the new state policy, which doesn't allow hospitals to divert ambulances to other emergency rooms if they are overcrowded.
Catherine Bromberg, of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, says, "They are absolutely ready to take on whatever they need to do."
Bromberg says hospitals have taken different approaches to ease ER overcrowding. Some have created an alert system to notify the entire staff when they are nearing full capacity, so everyone, including administrators, can help.
Some are changing the schedules for elective surgeries to avoid tying up beds during peak ER times. Some have created a center in the hospital to monitor patients as they move through the hospitals.
"The goal is to make sure patients can get to the closest hospital, and that there will be always be an available bed at the closest place when you need it," said NorthEast EMS Executive Director Jonathan Epstein.
Epstien has been working on this change for years. He says, "The attitude was emergency rooms were a great dumping ground. Our ERs are overcrowded, we're boarding patients, keeping patients in ERs for an extensive time frame, and the problem was getting them upstairs in the hospital, and out of the hospital."
Epstein says he thinks most of the hospitals are ready for this, but there will be some challenges. He says overcrowding will still be a problem.
"I think you'll see some patients standing in hallways in the floors of hospitals," Epstein said. "Instead of stacking them in the hall of an emergency department, you spread them out upstairs."
He is also concerned about the possibility of greater waits for people on stretchers. He says they will be watching to see how long it takes ambulances to drop off patients in emergency rooms, so they are able to respond to others.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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