KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/DickinsonEye on Health: Emergency Room

Eye on Health: Emergency Room

In Northwest North Dakota these days: the stores are busy with customers, the restaurants have waiting lines, and there's lots of traffic on the roadways.
With the influx of people in the area, the hospital emergency room is busy too.  
Carla Burbidge has this week's Eye on Health.

Nobody wants to go to an emergency room but we're glad it's there if we need it.  
Record numbers of people are needing the services of Trinity's Emergency Room.  They tell us the volume of patients in the last 8 years has doubled. And not only that, they have experienced a dramatic increase in the numbers of trauma patients.  There are more work related injuries, auto accidents, and burn victims. Trauma numbers have doubled in the last 4 years.  

(Dr. Jeffrey Sather, Medical Director, Trinity Trauma Center) "We saw 40-thousand people last year, that's about 100 a day, 140 on a busy day, 80 on a slow day, if we ever have a slow day."

Increased numbers create challenges.  
The physical space is limited, staff has been increased, and there's more focus on keeping the operation moving along, efficiently.  
Dr. Sather says the E. R. is set up for critical patients, but they will see everyone who comes in the door.
And right now that includes quite a few of the newer people in the area that have no primary doctor yet.

(Dr. Jeffrey Sather, Medical Director, Trinity Trauma Center) "Wait time on average is 20 minutes, could be longer when we are busy, but that is not bad."

Dr. Sather also says there's much to be said about the quality of the staff, going the extra mile to serve the emergency room patients.

(Dr. Jeffrey Sather, Medical Director, Trinity Trauma Center) "Our staff works tirelessly, working extra hours long days."
For Eye on Health I'm Carla Burbidge.