Will the expanded Villages Hospital ER be faster?

[Villages PL]

I wonder if it will be like Walmart. Walmart has a lot of cash registers open at peak hours but there are long lines of people waiting anyway. At off peak hours, only one cash register is open so you still wait in line.

In other words, extra beds will be there, larger facilities etc., but why would they have a large medical staff on standby if they don't expect a lot of patients at certain hours? And certain hours or days might be unexpectedly busy. If it's run like any other busines (think Walmart), they will want to keep the medical staff busy. So, from their point of view, it's better to have lots of people waiting to keep the smallest possible staff busy.

This is a business reality, is it not?

[Bogie Shooter]

Maybe we should wait and see........................

[Villages PL]

Maybe we should wait and see........................

No harm in speculating. This is a mental exercise to keep my brain functioning. Thinking doesn't hurt once you get the knack of it. Use it or lose it.

In sports, people ask: Who do you think will win the World Series? Who do you think will win the Super Bowl? Who do you think will win the World Cup? And no one ever says, "maybe we should wait and see". :-)

[Mickedamouse24]

:confused::shrug:The situation at ER's would drastically improved if people with non-emergency ailments would just visit their PC's or their local urgent care! ER's have forever been jammed with folks that should not be there... Do you think that maybe the ER staffs have finally said - let them wait, maybe they will leave!!!

[Villages PL]

:confused::shrug:The situation at ER's would drastically improved if people with non-emergency ailments would just visit their PC's or their local urgent care! ER's have forever been jammed with folks that should not be there... Do you think that maybe the ER staffs have finally said - let them wait, maybe they will leave!!!


:BigApplause::agree:

[DougB]

:confused::shrug:The situation at ER's would drastically improved if people with non-emergency ailments would just visit their PC's or their local urgent care! ER's have forever been jammed with folks that should not be there... Do you think that maybe the ER staffs have finally said - let them wait, maybe they will leave!!!

Really? We thought so also. We went to Urgent Care Sunday evening at 5:00. Waited 20 minutes to see the PA. She said there is nothing we can do for you here. Told us to go to the ER and charged us a 40 dollar copayment. Went to the ER and had less than a five minute wait and were treated immediately.

[SusanOfWoodbury]

People are always complaining about the hospital er and the long waits! I visited the urgent care on Santa Barbara a week ago and was in and out in 25 minutes. I was also at the Villages urgent care the other day and was told they are never busy.

So these places have extended hours, so why not try urgent care before going to the ER.

[Cathy H]

one of the wishes I made with my personal oil lamp genie was to have the management of the villages hospital publish an official report citing the volume of work done in their ER: successes, admissions, failures (if any), average wait times, to put an end to all this TOTV er horror story stuff. I expect it will be granted soon.

[Bogie Shooter]

No harm in speculating. This is a mental exercise to keep my brain functioning. Thinking doesn't hurt once you get the knack of it. Use it or lose it.

In sports, people ask: Who do you think will win the World Series? Who do you think will win the Super Bowl? Who do you think will win the World Cup? And no one ever says, "maybe we should wait and see". :-)

I did. I'm thinking it is a waste of time.

[Bogie Shooter]

Really? We thought so also. We went to Urgent Care Sunday evening at 5:00. Waited 20 minutes to see the PA. She said there is nothing we can do for you here. Told us to go to the ER and charged us a 40 dollar copayment. Went to the ER and had less than a five minute wait and were treated immediately.

Doug, this is not possible. I read on here all the time that you wait 5-10 hours at the ER.

[Bogie Shooter]

Always looking on the bright side. NOT!!!!!

Let's take a wait and see approach.

People complained there was no room so with addition beds, people start complaining, they will be understaffed?

Dude, you like to stir the pot!!!!

Points well made.

[SALYBOW]

One big reason for the long waits is that there are people in rooms for 24 plus hours waiting for a room to open up upstairs. More ER rooms would mean there would be less waiting for a room to open up. This should at least help.

[Villages PL]

Really? We thought so also. We went to Urgent Care Sunday evening at 5:00. Waited 20 minutes to see the PA. She said there is nothing we can do for you here. Told us to go to the ER and charged us a 40 dollar copayment. Went to the ER and had less than a five minute wait and were treated immediately.

Does this Urgent Care publish a list of things they can do and things they can't do? That would be helpful. Has anyone inquired about this?

[Bogie Shooter]

Does this Urgent Care publish a list of things they can do and things they can't do? That would be helpful. Has anyone inquired about this?

Do a Google search on "urgent care the villages fl". They have web sites and show all of the services they provide.

[Russ_Boston]

One big reason for the long waits is that there are people in rooms for 24 plus hours waiting for a room to open up upstairs. More ER rooms would mean there would be less waiting for a room to open up. This should at least help.


Great point Sally (and you would know having worked there). I would expect that the wait to get admitted would also be less since there will be some addition upstairs as well. But at least there should be ER rooms available with the expansion.


BTW: ER times are posted here: ER Wait Times - Central Florida Regional Hospital | Sanford, FL (http://centralfloridaregional.com/our-services/er-wait-time.dot)


But take these with a grain of salt - they are rolling averages to see somebody (med professional) - you will still face triage priority placement if your condition is not emergent.

[Villages PL]

Doug, this is not possible. I read on here all the time that you wait 5-10 hours at the ER.

Luck plays a big part in how long you will wait. This happens in Walmart too. Sometimes I go to check-out and there's no line at all. No waiting.

Perhaps we need to know what the average wait time is. If some have to wait 5 - 10 hours, I'm sure they won't feel any better knowing that Doug only waited a few minutes because he got lucky.

[CFrance]

Great point Sally (and you would know having worked there). I would expect that the wait to get admitted would also be less since there will be some addition upstairs as well. But at least there should be ER rooms available with the expansion.


BTW: ER times are posted here: ER Wait Times - Central Florida Regional Hospital | Sanford, FL (http://centralfloridaregional.com/our-services/er-wait-time.dot)


But take these with a grain of salt - they are rolling averages to see somebody (med professional) - you will still face triage priority placement if your condition is not emergent.

Pursuant to that... I went to the ER in Key West in 2005 (PS: don't ever go there). I waited two hours just to be triaged. I watched people with cuts & bruises being seen ahead of me. After another five hours, I went to the desk and said, "I've been waiting here for seven hours." They said, "No, you came in at noon." I said, "No, you triaged me at noon! I came in here at 10:00." Turns out the type of x-ray I needed was not available that day, and they just let me sit there!

While having an ultrasound instead (the tech's husband was from Pittsburgh), I left my Steelers sweatshirt on a peg in the room. When I returned the next morning to get it, of course it was gonzo.

The only reason I went to the ER to begin with was because my medical insurance person told me they would not pay for a visit to KW's only urgent care center.

[mac9]

Staffing probably needs to increase particularly with the increase in rooms. Waiting is waiting, whether in the waiting room or an ER room. What is the nurse to patient ratio in the hospital?

[Villages PL]

For those who might be wondering, I called Urgent Care @ Buffalo Ridge and was told that they do pretty much everything except heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary aneurysms.

That's fairly simple to remember.

[Villages PL]

Great point Sally (and you would know having worked there). I would expect that the wait to get admitted would also be less since there will be some addition upstairs as well. But at least there should be ER rooms available with the expansion.


BTW: ER times are posted here: ER Wait Times - Central Florida Regional Hospital | Sanford, FL (http://centralfloridaregional.com/our-services/er-wait-time.dot)


But take these with a grain of salt - they are rolling averages to see somebody (med professional) - you will still face triage priority placement if your condition is not emergent.

I imagine there might also be a big difference between summer and winter.

[Villages PL]

When the hospital expansion is finished, I would like to see them offer the following with a big sign in their waiting room: "If anyone has to wait more than one hour, we will pay their deductible or give a discount to cash customers."

[Russ_Boston]

When the hospital expansion is finished, I would like to see them offer the following with a big sign in their waiting room: "If anyone has to wait more than one hour, we will pay their deductible or give a discount to cash customers."
They already discount for cash customers - ask next time you're in there. My wife just went through this and got three quotes depending on whether it was cash or insurance or some combo.

[Russ_Boston]

Staffing probably needs to increase particularly with the increase in rooms. Waiting is waiting, whether in the waiting room or an ER room. What is the nurse to patient ratio in the hospital?


Nurse to patient ratio in TVRH:


Medical & Cardiac & Surgical Floors - 6 to 1
IMCU 4-1
ICU 2-1


Probably the same as most hospitals.

[mac9]

Just looked online @ Leesburg Regional. ER waiting time is 16 minutes, and TVRH is 3 minutes! Anyone need to go now?

[Carla B]

Recently, I went to both urgent care and the ER on the same day, a Saturday. The condition was misdiagnosed by the PA at the urgent care center in the morning. By nightfall I landed in The Villages ER, and the triage nurse immediately made the correct diagnosis. The only wait was finding someone who could start an IV, after two failed attempts. That took well over an hour. The doctor was super.

[daviskgb]

If they do not improve their processes throughput will not change.

[Halibut]

Doug, this is not possible. I read on here all the time that you wait 5-10 hours at the ER.

It depends, right? I was at the ER twice last year and was triaged and treated by the physician both times within 15 min of arrival. This was for cardiac problems -- if I had gone in with a broken wrist, I'm sure it would have been a different story.

The time of day is a huge factor as well. One visit was around 6am Sunday morning and there were maybe 2-3 people waiting. On a Wed night at 7pm, the waiting room was so full that there were no available chairs.

[Villages PL]

They already discount for cash customers - ask next time you're in there. My wife just went through this and got three quotes depending on whether it was cash or insurance or some combo.

I've heard about discounts being given for cash but wasn't sure about the hospital ER. But a regular discount leaves out the time element. Shouldn't they get a bigger discount if they are made to wait longer than one hour?

Or will they just end up raising all their prices to pay for the discounts? :icon_wink:

[scarecrow1]

I do believe that if you don't have insurance and can't pay the ER has to take you where the urgent care can refuse you. There for the ER is usually full.

[dillywho]

One thing that people don't understand is that part of your wait time back in the emergency room itself is that whatever testing they do has to be processed somewhere else in the hospital. Consider that you ("you" used collectively) are not the only patient whose tests are being run/evaluated. They are done for the entire hospital in many instances. This takes time, so regardless of the addition of more rooms, this will still be the case.

Also, the Villages Hospital is not just for Villagers.

Just sayin'.

[rn1tv]

Don't believe the online wait time for the TVRH ED. Took my husband, said wait time was 29 minutes; waited 5 hours. Triage nurse poor diagnostician; husband had emergency surgery in a.m. Surgeon said if it had been much longer, could have resulted in permanent damage or death.

[dbussone]

I do believe that if you don't have insurance and can't pay the ER has to take you where the urgent care can refuse you. There for the ER is usually full.


That is correct. At least until the ER physician determined you do not have an emergency condition. However, having said that, most ER docs will err on the side that provides the least amount of legal risk for the doc and the hospital.

An urgent care center is not bound by the same federal law (EMTALA).

[dbussone]

If they do not improve their processes throughput will not change.


Right on! More space does not necessarily eliminate numerous potential bottlenecks. These include (but are not limited to): triage, volunteer receptionists with no medical training, staff shortages, physician coverage, physician extenders, and poor processes that are within and without the ER such as lab and radiology.

[Russ_Boston]

Remember that just because the ER must take you - doesn't mean that it's free if you don't have insurance or medicare. They just can't refuse service. But you still OWE the bill. Yes there are some people that will never even pay a dime of it but that doesn't mean that it's not a debt.

[tanbcu]

Really? We thought so also. We went to Urgent Care Sunday evening at 5:00. Waited 20 minutes to see the PA. She said there is nothing we can do for you here. Told us to go to the ER and charged us a 40 dollar copayment. Went to the ER and had less than a five minute wait and were treated immediately.

5 minutes it takes that long to do the paper work. who are you kidding ? trying to make the er look good ha.

[dillywho]

Right on! More space does not necessarily eliminate numerous potential bottlenecks. These include (but are not limited to): triage, volunteer receptionists with no medical training, staff shortages, physician coverage, physician extenders, and poor processes that are within and without the ER such as lab and radiology.

Unless labs and radiology are set up on a one-to-one basis (totally cost prohibitive, by the way), it will always take time which does not equate to "poor processes".