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NUMC emergency department wait times below national averageSept. 1, 2008Across the nation, emergency department (ED) wait times are a growing concern. The issue is a popular topic for the news media and may be the first thing to come to a person's mind when considering whether to go to the emergency room or not. It’s not unusual to wait three or four hours at a large metropolitan facility just to be seen by a nurse or physician.  Mark Rorem, MD looks at the Emergency Department “track record” with Julie Olson, RN. The track record shows which patients are waiting to be seen in the ED and what symptoms they are currently having.
At New Ulm Medical Center, Emergency Department Manager Julie Halvorson, RN, acknowledged that wait times are mostly affected by volume, which means the number of patients in the emergency department at any given time. This is why wait times at NUMC are well below the national average. At NUMC the average length of time a person will spend between arriving at the registration desk to being taken to an exam room is about 14 minutes. The average time a person will spend walking in the door to either being admitted to the hospital or discharged is just over two hours. The national average is four hours, according to a 2007 ED Pulse Report by Press Ganey Associates, Inc. That same report listed the average in Minnesota at 3.3 hours. "In New Ulm, we see an average of 30 to 40 people a day in our emergency department," Halvorson said. "In an emergency department at a metro facility, they'll see hundreds each day." As soon as a patient arrives at the reception desk they are triaged by a registered nurse. Based on an individual’s symptoms and vital signs, the nurse determines how quickly the patient needs to be seen and the order in which the patient will be seen. "I think that most people understand that when they come to the ED the people who are most sick or injured will be seen first," Halvorson said. “Our preference would be that no one would have to wait to be seen, but unfortunately that’s just not possible. Everyone’s health concerns are important, and we need to treat the most critically ill or injured patients first." The charge nurse is responsible for keeping things moving as smoothly as possible in the ED. "The position of the charge nurse is almost like being a conductor in an orchestra - you have all these pieces that have to come together to make things go smoothly," Halvorson said. "The charge nurse makes sure the physicians orders, such as lab tests, x-rays or medications are carried out efficiently, so the patient isn't waiting any longer than necessary. The charge nurse always has to be thinking ahead." When the volume in the ED, increases, back-up help is available. "We first have to decide what kinds of resources are necessary - whether the situation calls for another physician or another nurse or both," Halvorson said. Internal help is the first to be called in, Halvorson said. The hospital always has a "float" nurse in-house. The float nurse's position is just what it sounds like - she floats to whichever department has the greatest need. Then, if necessary, a physician or an on-call nurse is called in from home. The NUMC ED has nine exam rooms and it’s not unusual for those to be at capacity several times a week with additional patients in the waiting room, Halvorson said. Reports show that peak times at the NUMC ED are at about 8 or 9 a.m. and then again in the late afternoon at about 5 or 6 p.m. “We know that for most of our patients, it’s a big decision to come to the Emergency Department for care. People pay a higher out of pocket expense and the length of time they may have to wait is unpredictable,” Halvorson said. “It’s important for our patients to know that as much as possible, we try hard to minimize the time anyone has to wait.”  Back to Health Edition |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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