Healthcare In Crisis: Scottsdale Healthcare posting ER wait times on Web site

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Scottsdale Healthcare posting ER wait times on Web site

Times posted on www.shc.org represent the time it takes to get a patient from the ER's front desk to an exam room at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak. Wait times are updated every 10 minutes.

Long wait times have frustrated patients at emergency rooms in Arizona and around the country in recent years, and at times patients coming via ambulance are diverted to other hospitals.

"Wait times can vary but we wanted to give our community an honest look at what actual times they can expect at our hospitals," said Nancy Hicks-Arsenault, a registered nurse and director of emergency services.

Arizona ranked 48th of 50 states in a 2007 study by Press Ganey Associates, with an average ER wait of five hours and 37 minutes. The national average ER wait time is four hours.

Scottsdale Healthcare ER patients average about three hours from door-to-discharge, officials said.
(source)

When I checked, the wait at Osborn was 4 1/2 hours. (click for website)

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