New York Patients Wait Nearly Five Hours In Emergency Room

Patients in New York's emergency rooms have to wait longer than almost anyone else in the country.

It takes an average of 296 minutes, or nearly five hours, before patients are cared for in the state's hospitals. That ranks 46th in the nation, tied with Mississippi.

That number increased by 18 minutes between 2008 and 2009, according to a Press Ganey hospital survey.

From the New York Post:

New Yorkers have wait times that are about an hour longer than in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut as well as Illinois, 30 minutes longer than in Florida and 22 minutes longer than in California, the study found.

Industry sources said recent hospital closures have contributed to longer wait times. For example, St. Vincent's Medical Center and North General hospital in Manhattan shut down last year, and about a half-dozen city hospitals have shut down over the last several years.

"The patient volumes in the other hospitals are up, said Press Ganey Senior Vice President Christy Dempsey. "The patients have to go somewhere."

The state's health department brushed aside the report.

"Our concern is that patients receive accurate diagnoses and quality care," a spokesperson said. "Our system is not designed to be like the 12-items-or-less line at the supermarket."

Daniel Lowenstein, a spokesperson for the Primary Care Development Corps, said the report points to a larger systemic issue.

"This is another symptom of not having enough primary care and preventive care," Lowenstein said. "People go to the e.r. for things they should go to the doctor for or because they let it go for so long that they had to go to the e.r. Either way, it's another symptom of the broken system."

Comments

[FreeProgressLiberal]

11:03 PM on 02/16/2011

The problem is a lack of education when people start to receive their state funded medical benefits. Many people think that they can just show up at the E.R. instead of waiting for a doctors appointment, and this is one of the largest causes of E.R. waits in the nation. In addition the largest hospitals in NYC are not going to turn away a patient because they are not a U.S. citizen, and have no way to pay for treatment.

This problem has gone on for years, and years. A five hour wait in an NYC hospital E.R. is not great, but it can be a lot worse.

[spytheweb]

10:57 PM on 02/16/2011

NY being a sanctuary city who do you think uses it more than anyone? Illegals aliens. It's their primary source of care.

[Urgent Care Manhattan]

11:52 AM on 02/16/2011

Urgent Care medical practices are a source of immediate and convenient access to medical care. Urgent Care Manhattan is located on the corner of West 69th St and Amsterdam Ave, on the Upper West Side. We offer immediate care, a convenient location and superior service for all kinds of minor emergencies without any wait at all !!! All care is rendered by board-certified emergency physicians. New Yorkers should and can have better access to medical care for unanticipated illnesses and injuries.

Visit us in person, 212-721-4200 or on the web at: www.urgentcaremanhattan.com

[trust2020]

07:10 AM on 02/16/2011

Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital?
http://watclosingstvincentshospital.blogspot.com/
A video blog documenting the community's fight to save SVH and preserve its legacy.

[1donewrong]

11:45 PM on 02/15/2011

That's better then I would have thought since bloomberg turned NYC into a sanctuary city

[BadWolf]

09:24 PM on 02/15/2011

Unless you have a gaping GSW going to a New York City ER is an exercise in frustration. We have no urgent care facilities and our uninsured/underinsured have no other choice than to use the ER in place of a primary care physician. I broke my arm in 1993 and the wait was no better then. If I'm ever in that situation again I would rather wait and go to an orthopedist than endure the indifference of a NYC ER.

[AMill]

01:38 PM on 02/18/2011

That does suck, but in a crowded city with crowded hospitals they do have to prioritize. Sometimes they don't do the best job, but what else can be done. I went to the ER last year with an asthma attack when my inhaler didn't work. Yes, there were a ton of people sitting in the waiting room looking sick and pissed off, but I did not wait a single minute to be rushed back as soon as they saw me stumble in from my cab panicking and gasping for breath.

[loosebowel]

09:11 PM on 02/15/2011

Not a nice place to live or to get sick. A lot of people are very cool attitudes.

[BadWolf]

09:26 PM on 02/15/2011

have you ever actually lived here? It's am amazing place to live. I would rather live in a shoebox in NYC than in a mansion in any suburb in middle America.

[ipv4]

10:56 AM on 02/16/2011

As a new yorker, don't get ridiculous.

[loosebowel]

08:06 PM on 02/16/2011

Yup. For 25 years. And a lot of people have left. But, to each his own. I prefer the serenity and freedom I now have. I don't have to live with inconveniences like I did when I lived there. If it works for you, fine.

[duncansdad]

09:33 PM on 02/15/2011

It's not a nice place to live which explains why millions come to live here and LOVE NYC.

[loosebowel]

08:07 PM on 02/16/2011

Big cities have always attracted millions of people.

[Richcrafter]

08:38 PM on 02/15/2011

Yikes!

[Frog in a pot]

07:34 PM on 02/15/2011

France has doctors who take calls from emergency rooms and do house calls.Cheaper ,more efficient and keeps sick people home not spreading germs.

Darn socialists.

[utsubyo]

05:23 PM on 02/15/2011

i actually had a surprisingly nice experience two weeks ago at mount sinai queens after hurting my back. i only waited about 30 minutes total before being given a bed and an ice pack. the doctor was very friendly and i was able to go home about an hour and a half after coming in. on the other hand, i spent five and a half hours in a folding chair in the middle of an emergency room in lower manhattan two years ago, so that's still not a very encouraging average.

[rikster]

04:45 PM on 02/15/2011

not surprised..the way the close hospitals for vague reasons...

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

03:36 PM on 02/15/2011

Reopen St. Vincent's NOW.

[BadWolf]

09:27 PM on 02/15/2011

Amen to that!

[northbronx]

02:55 PM on 02/15/2011

I wonder if this is related to the lack of things like "urgent care" centers, where people can get immediate treatment for non-life threatening conditions. At least in New York City, such clinics are hard to find.

[pierre F Lherisson]

12:52 PM on 02/15/2011

The New York City Hospital are understaffed while the workers are underpaid and overworking to the point of burnout.

[Max Shaw]

12:17 PM on 02/15/2011

I hate NY hospitals. I had severe lacerations once while upstate and actually passed out from lack of blood while waiting to be admitted. Unless your actually unconscious, often times they really dont care.