Worcester Area Hospitals’ Emergency Room Waiting Times - Big Differences

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Tuesday, January 05, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team and Kate Nagle

It is literally life or death. Emergency rooms save lives and the waiting time can be the difference. 

In Central Massachusetts, the emergency rooms vary greatly. The waiting times at some hospitals can be 3 to 4 times as long as the best ones - some are more than an hour on average. 

SLIDES: SEE HOW EACH EMERGENCY ROOM IN CENTRAL MA PERFORMED BELOW

Emergency rooms wait times are an indication of overcrowding. Accroding to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “wait times for treatment increased as the annual volume of visits increased."

The mean wait time was 33.8 minutes in emergency rooms with less than 20,000 annual visits, compared with 69.8 minutes in ERs with 50,000 or more annual visits.”

That car crash on Route 95 that requires emergency response to use the jaws of life and the victim needs immediate response? One hospital is most likely to take the victim of the accident.

In Central Massachusetts, the reality is that UMass Memorial absorbs most of the most complex cases as it is a Level 1 Trauma Center. It is verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level I Trauma Center with both adult and pediatric capability.

Each year UMass treat approximately 135,000 patients

"The reliance on emergency care remains stronger than ever," said Michael Gerardi, MD, FAAP, FACEP, president of the ACEP.  "It's the only place that's open 24/7, and we never turn anyone away.  Rather than trying to put a moat around us to keep people out, it's time to recognize the incredible value of this model of medicine that people need."

Nationally Stats

The Northeast has a tendency to have among the longest waiting times on average at 44.3 minutes and the West Coast is significantly lower average at 37.2 minutes.

Nationally the number are:

    •    Number of visits: 136.3 million
    •    Number of injury-related visits: 40.2 million
    •    Number of visits per 100 persons: 44.5
    •    Percent of visits with patient seen in fewer than 15 minutes: 27.0%
    •    Percent of visits resulting in hospital admission: 11.9%
    •    Percent of visits resulting in transfer to a different (psychiatric or other) hospital: 2.1%

The American Hospital Association reports that emergency room visits have increased by nearly 19 percent over the past decade.

GoLocal used the data prepared by Pro Publica.

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Related Slideshow: Waiting Times at Central MA Emergency Rooms - 2016

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