I never knew going to ER could be

[1whoscraps]

so easy. Had to take DS in early yesterday evening..he's fine just a case of strep/tonsilitis. But checked online and wait time was 19 mins so we headed over since DS starts school (college) tomorrow. Total time in and out of the ER 1 hour..is that some kind of record???

[Dani]

def a record.... our visits to the ER in Miami are at least 3-4 hours

[midmiscrapper]

Crazy...you can check online what the wait time is??? Why hasn't that technology hit Michigan? I've never heard of that!

My wait times are fairly short...but I work there AND live in a rural area....

Pam

[Nikki]

It all depends on when you go at the hospital I work at. There are definitely peak times, although it's weird to think of an ER as having any predictability!
Sounds like they were able to focus on your son and usually strep is pretty easy to detect, so they knew quickly and were able to get him the antibiotics!
Sometimes, little miracles do happen! I'm very glad you didn't wind up staying for hours upon hours!

[animal]

WOW! That is definitely a record! Glad to hear you you we're able to get the medical assistance in such a short wait. Hope all is well.

[Lorie Ann]

Girl that a miracle time!

Matthew, who is medically fragile, is typically bumped up in the line but that doesn't mean we won't get a bed.

Monday when I had to rush him in due to Croup and him having trouble breathing there were beds open. So we checked in, saw triage 1, did triage 2, and walked back to Children's and got a bed.

Children's only has 18 beds so it can be a long wait at times. When it is they do hallway beds and open up part of adults for Peds.

The longest we've had to wait in the ER for a bed was 8 hours. And then on top of that we had to wait almost 20 hours for a bed up in Step Down PICU to open up. Not.Fun.

[Lorie Ann]

There is an on-line service that a lot of hospitals are under and you pay $20 to put your name into the hospital data base, you answer some questions and then they give you an arrival time with a guarantee bed within 30 min of your arrival.

Of course our Children's is the only Trama 1 for a good area of Southern Cali, Arizona, and Nevada so if a trama comes in or Mercy Air flies in, you get bumped.

My friends, who have a daughter on TPN, do this so she isnt sitting around a lot of ill people. They like it and have only been bumped once.

Our Children's is also home to Venom ER (a show on Discovery). Patients are flown in from as far away as New Mexico and Colorado.

[1whoscraps]

Lori Ann that is so nice you have such a great hosptial close at hand.

Fortnuately we didn't need a bed and honestly for what they did I wouldn't have minded they do it in the hallway..whatever gets us through faster but I hear you. When I had pregancy issues I had to wait almost 8 hours for a bed..when you are 9 months preganat waiting for a bed is so hard..they acutally found a linen closet and put me on a gurney after about 6 hours.

And the only way I found out about the online wait time was when my dd was in the hospital for her second birth..went to look up the phone number and noticed they had an ER wait time queue posted..what a wonderful thing.

After we got there, filled out the quickie form and my ds says now what? And I said now we wait, and wait and wait..LOL..because that is usually what you do.

[Basketlady]

That's fast! Lordy, the ER stories that I could tell.

I know I waited over 8 hours for one visit. I was pg, my blood sugars were over 400, and the clinic wanted to ambulance me to the ER. I DID NOT want the drama of an ambulance, so I drove over there myself--all of 3 blocks. I should have taken the ambulance--I found out later that those patients are given priority admittance. I really thought that BS of over 400 would have been the key. Nope.

But DS always gets right in and he's my ER kid anyway. He has a borderline Prolonged QT interval and it makes the triage nurse very, very nervous when I bring that up. Antibiotics are the big problem for him--there are so many that he can't have with his QT issue. So they want to catch any sort of infection, even a simple ear infection, quickly.

[AnnaMatrix]

Glad all worked out OK! Some ERs are doing this, which I think is a great thing!! Also some have a separate "line" for clearly outpatient stuff like this, where they know you won't need to be admitted, that works more like an urgent care center...

ER visits with my parents have always been several hours - it's a long time to wait and worry! Gail

[craftygirl]

Wow, 1 hour, that is a record! Hooray and good for you!

Our shortest record was two hours for a broken arm. We had to wait 3 days to get it casted, so I think that helped the time. The nurse said clear a bed for a broken wrist before he even had X-rays, so we weren't too surprised by the diagnosis.

And our longest record was 10 hours for a golf club to the eye area. When they say, clear a room now and get you in immediately, it is not a good sign! Now I don't mind waiting in the lobby an hour! On the bright side, all healed up with no lasting damage after the golf club, except a good-sized scar, which son thinks is manly and brags to other son that his scar is visible and much more cool. Ah, boys...

[Basketlady]

Crafty Girl, are you sure that's all it was--10 hours? Even with the hosp transfer? But her DS looks fine--you can't even see the scar unless you are looking for it. But it was horrible at the time!

DD had croup and was wheezing and her lips were turning blue. I practically flew to the ER (luckily just minutes up the hill from the housing area), praying I wouldn't hit a deer. I ran into the ER carrying her and immediately went to triage. About 3 minutes in triage and a pulse ox reading and we were off into a room. They didn't even have the insurance info at that point. Not a good sign!

[craftygirl]

Michelle-see when you get in right away it is not a good sign. And oh boy, not a good sign, when they don't stop to take insurance information!

I think it was about 10 hours, even with two hospitals. I know it felt like longer at the time. But, as previously mentioned, when you arrive by ambulance (and as a transfer, no less) you get in right away. And when you see DS again, pretend you can see his scar and that it is manly!

[Lorie Ann]

Yea we're lucky here in Southern California. A lot of good top Children's hospitals.

Ours is LLUCH and then Matt will also now be seen at CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) at their GI Motility Clinic. Then you have UCLA Mattel Children's, and Rady's Childrens in San Diego. We've been referred there once. Really nice hospital. I have friends whose SBS kids have been transfered from LLUCH to UCLA.

And another friend flied out every 5 weeks to Children's Boston to see Dr P for the Omegaven TPN Clinic. It's the only hospital in the US that is doing Omegaven TPN for longer than 6 month runs.

Matt's GI doc wanted us to go to Children's in Ohio for their world renouned Motility Clinic but I was like ha ha...I dont fly.

[craftygirl]

Lori Anne
Sounds like you are lucky with Childrens Hospitals in CA. A good thing for Matthew.

If you did fly, which Childrens Hospital in Ohio? There are several and all good from what I hear. Son was in Dayton for the golf club episode. He had good care there.

[Susan]

ohmygoodness - having never been to the ER those wait times sound crazy.

However I know from constant news reports in AZ that lots of the wait time here locally is because lots of people use the ER as a doctors visit.

So I'll just continue to avoid them - knock on wood!

[Deleted]

Unless you're just about to drop dead at our ER (the only hospital in town), the wait is horrendous...up to 3 hours! And the hospital also owns the two "prompt cares" in the area, and "prompt" is not exactly the word I would use to describe them!

[MBstang]

I generally think of ERs for gun-shot wounds, etc. However, reading this thread made me think I should have used one back in May when I was having a Migraine and in so much pain that my blood pressure was more than just a little elevated! I waited in the doctor's office for most of three hours for them to call me back to see the doctor. I was afraid I had a tumor and was going to pass out or worse! (I think they actually did not sign me in when I first came in! They blamed it on a new computer system.)

However, I finally got to see a very nice and knowledgeable nurse practitioner and I was very pleased with the outcome! Turns out it was Migraines due to the crazy allergy season we have been having! I haven't had ANY headaches since I started taking Allegra every day! (Thank goodness it is not prescription anymore or else I would surely suffer while waiting to see the doc for a prescription! )

Maybe I should just use the ER for the times I get sick. That would be about once every three years! (knocking on wood!) Which is good, because I don't like taking medicine and I haven't had much luck with doctors!

Hey, Dr Gail... know of any crafty docs in SC? Maybe that is the kind of doctor I need!

[Basketlady]

Sadly, the ER is how we get the majority of our health care here in northern VA. Routine appts are about a month out, but t's impossible to get an appt for an ear infection, sore throat, UTI, etc. Same day appts just aren't available. We are under the Army Tricare system here and until a few years ago, we didn't even have the option of Urgent Care.

That's one thing I will miss about Hanscom's clinic--there was only one pediatrician, but she would fit you in. Loved it!