CLEVELAND \u2014 Imagine sitting there, suffering in pain, and waiting to see a doctor. It\u2019s happening in emergency rooms across Northeast Ohio. We\u2019ve heard your complaints, so the News 5 Investigators dug through the data to find the worst ER wait times in our area.<\/p>\n
Gretchen Gibson, 75, from Akron, went to bed one night in July not feeling great. By the time morning arrived, the pain had worsened. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a throbbing, constant pain,\u201d said Gretchen.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Jeff, thought it might be her appendix. So, they went to the emergency room at Cleveland Clinic Akron General.<\/p>\n
THE WAIT WAS PAINFUL<\/p>\n
They said that after sitting in the waiting room for an hour and a half, Jeff returned to the front desk. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s in pain. Nobody\u2019s coming out to see her. I said, ‘What are we supposed to do?’\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n
He said they waited another 30 minutes, and he went back to the desk. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if her appendix bursts while she\u2019s out here?\u201d he asked at the time.<\/p>\n
Cleveland Clinic\u2019s own website says<\/a> time is of the essence. <\/p>\n \u201cAppendix pain is always an emergency,\u201d but a ruptured appendix spreads bacteria, which \u201ccan lead to life-threatening complications.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gibsons said the only good news was from Gretchen\u2019s CT scan. <\/p>\n \u201cThe results showed that the appendix was very swollen,\u201d she told us. \u201cBut still intact.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Gretchen was still suffering. <\/p>\n \u201cBetween throwing up and the shakes, and I was a little concerned that I was going to go into shock because the pain was so bad,\u201d Gretchen said.<\/p>\n After eight hours of waiting, she said she finally went back for her surgery. Jeff said afterwards, the doctor told them the appendix had ruptured before they could operate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe doctor\u2019s exact words, \u2018Once we were in, it looked like a bomb had exploded,\u2019\u201d said Jeff.<\/p>\n NORTHEAST OHIO HOSPITALS WITH LONGEST WAIT TIMES<\/p>\n If it seems like we\u2019re beating up on Akron General, we\u2019re not. In fact, after sifting through recent data on ER wait times, at 2 hours 37 minutes, Akron General doesn\u2019t even crack the top ten for the longest ER wait times.<\/p>\n We examined 40 hospitals in counties throughout northeast Ohio. We gathered data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a> that focuses on \u201ctimely and effective care,\u201d measuring the average time from check-in to leaving the ER.<\/p>\n Look at the graph below to see the average wait times at local hospitals:<\/p>\n The Cleveland Clinic has three emergency rooms in the top 5 for longest wait times, including Mercy Medical Center in Canton, which holds the number one spot with an average wait time of 256 minutes. That\u2019s 4 hours 16 minutes.<\/p>\n University Hospitals has six of the top ten ERs with the longest wait times. Its longest is at Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, at four hours. It ranks second on our list.<\/p>\n CLINIC, UH, SUMMA WOULD NOT GO ON CAMERA<\/p>\n Neither UH nor the Cleveland Clinic would answer our questions on camera. UH wrote that it\u2019s \u201c\u2026seen a surge in demand for emergency services dating back to the pandemic\u201d and it\u2019s \u201cproud\u201d of the care it provides.<\/p>\n Summa Health said it would get back to us, but never did.<\/p>\n Cleveland Clinic cited \u201cincreased demand\u201d and its ER departments \u201c\u2026sometimes experience longer-than-expected wait times.\u201d<\/p>\n The data shows four of the top 10 are Cleveland Clinic ERs.<\/p>\n Thankfully, Gretchen has recovered since she visited the Cleveland Clinic ER. Now, the Gibsons would like to picture a brighter future for people heading to the ER. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel for the other patients,\u201d said Gretchen. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten stories from other people since this, and it\u2019s the same story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that the Cleveland Clinic or any other hospital facility that sees this (story) realizes there\u2019s a problem,\u201d Jeff told us. \u201cAnd steps forward and says we got to fix this problem. This isn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n So what can be done? Tomorrow, you\u2019ll hear from a national expert with answers to that question, and she\u2019ll explain several reasons why longer wait times are happening. Additionally, we\u2019ll inform you about the top five hospitals that have added the most minutes to their emergency room wait times since the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n WRITTEN RESPONSES<\/p>\n While the hospital systems wouldn’t go on camera, we did get written responses from the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.<\/p>\n Cleveland Clinic\u2019s Statement:<\/p>\n \u201cHealthcare is facing an increased demand for services. Like many health systems nationwide, Cleveland Clinic\u2019s Emergency Departments sometimes experience longer-than-expected wait times. Those wait times can be impacted by many factors, including patient volumes, the complexity of cases, and the availability of inpatient beds.\u00a0 University Hospitals Statement:<\/p>\n \u201cUniversity Hospitals operates a regional network of state-designated trauma centers to meet the needs of patients in Northeast Ohio. We\u2019ve seen a surge in demand for emergency services dating back to the pandemic. Our dedicated doctors, nurses and other staff work around the clock to deliver life-saving care as rapidly as possible. All emergency visits are triaged, so the most urgent cases always go to the front of the line. We work with our EMS, and fire department partners to care for their patients and get them back into service as quickly as possible. We have also opened dozens of urgent cares around the region because not every incident needs to go to the emergency room. We are proud of the compassionate, life-saving care we provide 365 days a year.<\/p>\n UH\u2019s regional trauma network includes seven Level 3 Trauma Centers: UH Elyria, Geauga, Lake West, St. John, Parma and Portage\u00a0medical centers, as well as Southwest General Health Center. UH Cleveland Medical Center and UH Rainbow Babies & Children\u2019s Hospital are designated Level 1 Regional Trauma Centers. UH Rainbow is Cleveland’s only Level I trauma center for children and adolescents and has been a continuously verified Level 1 pediatric trauma center by the ACS for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014 Imagine sitting there, suffering in pain, and waiting to see a doctor. 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We are continuously looking at solutions to maintain the highest quality care while decreasing wait times. This includes:Offering patients a variety of\u00a0ways to receive care [my.clevelandclinic.org]<\/a>,\u00a0such as urgent, express or emergency care, depending on the severity of symptoms.Utilizing remote providers to start assessing and moving patients through the care plan more quickly.Using a more efficient processing system that divides patients into different levels of care upon arrival, to get patients to the type of services they need more quickly.We remain committed to meeting the needs of patients in the communities we serve and ensuring patients receive timely care.\u201d<\/p>\n