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THREE DAYS.
IT'S BEEN A WEEK SINCE BAYSTATE
MEDICAL CENTER UNVEILED ITS NEW
STATE-OF-THE-ART EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS
HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH THEIR
EXPERIENCES THERE. THEY SAY
THEY'RE WAITING TOO LONG FOR
CARE.
ONE WEEK AFTER BAYSTATE MEDICAL
CENTER OPENED ITS NEW EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT - SOME PATIENTS ARE
MAKING IT KNOWN, THEY'RE NOT
IMPRESSED.
I EXPECTED A WAIT, MAYBE AN HOUR
AN HOUR AND A HALF, MAYBE TWO
HOURS AT THE MOST, BUT NOT 10
HOURS.
SPRINGFIELD'S DEBRA DEMARS WAS
ONE OF A NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO
CONTACT 22NEWS AFTER MINUTES
TURNED INTO HOURS IN THE NEW
WAITING ROOM...AND IT APPEARED
NO ONE WAS GETTING TREATED.
I WAS LOSING MY FIELD OF VISION
IN THE EYE, MY FIELD OF VISION
WAS DECREASING AND FINALLY MY
HUSBAND WENT UP TO THE DESK AND
SAID, LOOK I'M GOING TO HAVE TO
CALL A LAWYER IF SOMETHING ISN'T
DONE. 22NEWS TOOK HER AND OTHER
COMPAINTS TO HOSPITAL LEADERS
WHO SAY THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING
BEHIND THE SCENES THAT WAITING
PATIENTS CAN'T SEE.
DOCTORS SAY ONE OF THE GOALS OF
THE NEW DEPARTMENT WAS TO GIVE
PATIENTS MORE PRIVACY. FOR
EXAMPLE, WHEN ADDITIONAL
PATIENTS ARE BROUGHT IN BY
AMBULANCE AS MANY OF THEM ARE,
THE PATIENTS IN THE WAITING
ROOM, AREN'T SEEING THAT.
DR. NIELS RATHLEV SAID PATIENTS
ARE SEEN BASED ON THE SEVERITY
OF THEIR SICKNESS, IT'S NOT
FIRST COME-FIRST SERVE. HE ALSO
SAID OVERALL, MORE PEOPLE ARE
COMING INTO THEIR EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT AND THEY'RE DOING
WHATEVER THEY CAN... TO KEEP UP.
LAST WEEK WE WERE UP 40% FROM
THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR, THE
NUMBER OF PATIENTS COMING IN BY
AMBULANCE IS UP ABOUT 15-17
PERCENT SO THESE REALLY ARE
UNPRECENDED INCREASES IN VOLUME
THAT WE'VE SEEN AND IN ACUITY
AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THERE ARE
SOME PATIENTS WHO HAVE HAD TO
WAIT.
DR. RATHLEV SAYS IT HAS BEEN
JUST ONE WEEK, AND IT'S TOO SOON
TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE