Injured face long stint in ER waiting room of 'U' hospital

Anyone familiar with the television series "ER" knows the drama and excitement typically associated with an emergency room.

But at the University Hospitals Emergency Room, the waiting room is more crowded and bustling than the operating area.

The number of patients that visit the University's emergency room has increased by 4 percent this year. This rising percentage, coupled with a consistent shortage of beds in the emergency room, has ultimately made patients wait longer for treatment.

"The turnaround time, or the average time patients remain in the ER from the time they sign forms up until they exit the doors, continues to remain at three hours, and we are hoping to reduce that number," said Dr. Bill Barson, director of the ER.

In an effort to mitigate this ongoing problem of packed rooms and space constraints, hospital administrators and architects have been formalizing a costly renovation project to expand ER services.

"The project will cost $19 million, so this is a big deal," said Peter Forster, Associate Hospital Administrator. "The overcrowding situation signaled that the ER needed to be renovated, and that is why we are spending the time and money to do it," he added.

Recently approved at the February meeting of the University Board of Regents, the plan was originally intended to begin in 1995, yet was postponed due to an imposed halt on all capital projects by University Health Services, which at that time was undergoing serious financial strains.

Now, as the plan returns to the forefront of hospital affairs, project officials await state approval, required by law under the Certification of Need Act, which determines whether or not a project is worthy of state funds.

Confident that the project will gain state approval, hospital administrators said they anticipate that construction will begin next fall and continue for approximately two years, taking place in an area currently located outside the ER so as to prevent interference with the present ER.

Upon completion, the old ER will become an intermediary, or observation unit where patients may stay for longer periods of time. This new unit will not only free room space for more immediate trauma patients, but will also help to reduce the number of admitted patients, currently averaging 20 percent of all ER incomers a day, comparable to a rate of 10 percent at other local hospitals.

"If a child is suffering from dehydration, for example, he or she can receive treatment in the intermediary unit and not have to be admitted overnight," Barson said.

Other new additions in the ER will include a pharmacy, as well as X-ray machines and CAT scans, crucial for reducing the patient turnover rate and increasing the efficiency of ER services.

"Right now patients must be transferred to the radiology department to receive X-rays and that takes a lot of time," said Alex Oguejiofor, lead clerk of the ER. "We want a setup that better reflects the responsiveness of our staff."

The proposed new setup for the ER will therefore help to unify its dispersed branches into one cohesive unit, allowing doctors to deliver care more expediently.

"Our renovation plan will bring all the three areas of adult, pediatric, and urgent care services together," Forster said.

Yet with or without the renovation, University Hospitals continues to provide the highest quality of emergency care.

"It's an excellent hospital in terms of the type of training and research that goes on here," Barson said. "But there's more to it than that. In my opinion, you can't get better care anywhere else."

"My ER experience was very frustrating," said LSA first-year student Meredith Spiegel, who last year received ER treatment at University Hospitals for a minor injury. "The waiting room was packed with people just sitting around for hours before a doctor would come in and call their names."

04-02-98