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Originally Posted by rjm1cc
Fortunately I have no experience with the ER facility.
Up north the hospitals I used gave ER priority to those who arrived by ambulance. We were at a doctors office and were told to go to the ER. According to the Doctor and his experience we could take an ambulance from his office and be seen when we arrived. If we drove ourselves it could take several hours. We drove and it took longer to be seen that those arriving by ambulance. It seems that the ER is being used over its capacity.
The problem is that when you go to the ER you might not be sure how serious your problem is and if you should go to a more remote facility for treatment. For starters I would learn where other facilities are located and how long the average wait is. Then when an emergency occurs you have to make a judgment on where to go. I know one or more hospitals in Ocala let you make an emergency room appointment before you leave home. Of course they still take the most serious person first. Guess we all have to do a little home work and some postings on experience with other ER's would helpful.
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Contrary to popular belief, you are not seen quicker if you go in by ambulance. The only difference is that they are in contact with the hospital and it seems that ER triage is the only thing you by-pass. The last time my husband fell, I called 911. When we got to the ER, we waited a very long time in the hallway. The paramedics explained all this to me. They also told me that there is 511, which is a non-emergency paramedic call. They said that if he experienced another fall and I was certain that he was not having a heart attack, unconscious, etc., to call that number and tell them the situation and ask for a lift assist. The bad part about going in by ambulance just to be seen sooner, which you aren't, it still ties up paramedics until you are seen. This keeps them from responding to truly life-threatening emergencies. I really appreciated their telling me about the non-emergency number.
Hope this helps.