AREA EMERGENCY ROOMS STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE
BY BRAD GOINS
Most of us are mightily challenged just to understand the basic workings of the health care system in everyday situations. Regardless of how you feel about U.S. health care, you almost certainly don’t feel that it’s simple.
Given the inherent complexity of the health care system, it would take an astonishing feat of intellect to imagine what changes it might go through as an economic boom moves into the area.
But suppose we simplified matters by looking only at one particular health care area: emergency rooms?
After all, as construction work in the Lake Area increases daily, we can only assume that construction-related injuries will increase as well. If we can pinpoint what local ERs are doing to prepare for this situation, perhaps we’ll wind up with a health care situation that’s not too big to understand — and also one that’s very pertinent to the near future of the Lake Area.
At this early date, all local emergency rooms are seeing increases in the number of patients. At some hospitals, increases are much more marked than at others.
One factor in the rate of patient traffic is the proximity of the ER to major local construction projects. “We’ve already seen an increasing number of patients,” says a local hospital spokesperson. Although some of the increase may be to the ending of emergency services at Moss Regional, local ERs are also seeing patients related to the new construction projects coming in.
ERs not quite so close to the center of the action seem to be anticipating major changes down the line and, as far as this writer can tell, are making major changes to prepare for the inevitable influx of new ER patients.
For instance, Memorial Hospital is doubling the size of its emergency room. The intensive care unit will also be doubled; it will accommodate twice as many patients as it did before.
Another part of the expansion project is the complete revamping of two trauma rooms.
The bottom line, says Memorial’s Matt Selder, is that Memorial’s ER “will have more rooms for care.”
This massive expansion project is in its second year. It’s anticipated that the work will be completed by the end of 2015.
Part of the project is the construction of the hospital’s new building on Nelson Road. At the beginning, this building will feature family and internal medicine. Diagnostic medicine will be added later.
The ER at Memorial Hospital will expand and streamline its use of the Fast Track system. The system works in such a way that if there is a rush of ER patients, those with less serious conditions are treated as quickly as possible, thus freeing up bed space and nurses and doctors for more serious cases. Such a system could be a great boon if the ER winds up seeing a good number of patients with serious injuries related to construction.
The number of Fast Track stations in Memorial’s ER will increase from two to four.
As one would expect, these expansions will mean more of everything in the ER — including more jobs. Selder says there will be increased hiring of RNs.
New Lines For New Injuries
Lake Area Medical Center (LAMC) is a full-service acute care hospital located off Interstate 210 and Nelson Road. As any Lake Charles driver knows, Nelson Road is one of the most highly traveled roads in Lake Charles. Whethe
r it’s the ever-increasing traffic; the boom; or both, over the past five years, Lake Area Medical Center has experienced a steady increase in ER use.
“Since last year alone, we’ve already seen an 11 percent increase in the number of patients seeking emergency care at LAMC,” says Bryan S. Bateman, CEO at Lake Area Medical. “We believe we will continue to experience an upward growth in our ER service line as new business, construction projects and families relocate to Southwest Louisiana.”
In preparation for the population surge, Lake Area Medical has launched new service lines — including cardiology and, in particular, wound care. These lines are designed
to help provide service to many of the “new movers” and the types of injuries that may result at the worksites where they’re employed.
According to Bateman, “While the type and nature of injuries we see in our ER may change over the next few years; we feel fortunate to have the processes and experienced staff in place to ensure a fast triage and a rapid ‘door to doc’ time. We believe service to the customer will always be a key driver for our business, and that is never more true than to patients seeking emergency care in our ER.”
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital
Changes have already been made to the ER to improve turnaround and process times for the increased number of clients.
As part of this project, WCCH recently contracted with the Professional Emergency Medical Group — a group responsible for providing emergency physicians, nurse practitioners and hospital medicine staff throughout the ER and the greater hospital.
“With this new transition, we have seen a significant decrease in treatment times for patients, and also an increase in patient satisfaction, as well as a decrease in the number of patients who leave without treatment,” says Janie Frugé, the CEO of WCCH.
Another measure WCCH has taken to deal with the anticipated rush is to increase staff to its emergency department. The increases include the addition of a admissions clerk as well as an additional full-time nurse practitioner whose schedule is designed so that it can meet the needs of the department on the days that are traditionally most likely to have a high ER volume.
This has allowed for substantial use of its Fast Track program, which has helped to improve the flow of the less acute patients that visit the emergency department.
At Christus St. Patrick Hospital, a renovation of the entire emergency room in Lake Charles is planned.
Plans also include the expansion of ambulatory services in both Sulphur and Moss Bluff.
The hospital is also actively developing collaborative relationships with physicians, physician groups and other hospitals to see to it that additional staff can be brought into the St. Patrick ER at moments when the crowd is a little too large or the staff is worn a little too thin.
While this story is a brief survey of a big, complex topic, it does provide some key information as well as reassuring news. Local hospital ERs are quite clearly among the Lake Area institutions that are preparing for the boom well before it reaches the levels of greatest intensity.
Such early preparation isn’t just humane; it’s practical and beneficial for both the hospitals and the communities they serve. If the boom is even remotely close to what has been described to us, it stands to reason that emergency rooms will experience dramatic influxes of new patients. In this case, early preparation will provide tangible benefits to everyone involved … and may save some lives.
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