Long hospital wait times add stress to patients, healthcare workers - WAVE 3

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Healthcare leaders in the Louisville area are having a tough time keeping up with people who come in for emergencies other than COVID-19.

A woman named Nikki, who did not want to share her last name, told WAVE 3 News she found herself wondering if she needed to have COVID to be seen in the ER in a timely manner.

“For me to come (to the hospital), that means I’m not feeling well,” she said.

Nikki said she spent six hours in pain with her husband by her side waiting to be called in to see a doctor and get treated. She went to a Louisville hospital, which she didn’t want to name, and witnessed what she described as a scene out of a sci-fi movie.

“People out the door, coughing everywhere, it’s extremely packed, (and) you had to sign some forms,” Nikki said. “I’m scared. I don’t want to go get COVID. There are a lot of people there who are sick, people walking around with an IV bag.”

Meanwhile, she said she saw the staff trying to do as much possible to help the long wait, which got her thinking.

“Do you have to have COVID to be treated?” she said. “Or what’s going on?”

Dr. James Frazier, the vice president of medical affairs at Norton Healthcare, said more people at Norton are coming in younger and unvaccinated, taking up beds and adding to the volume of patients. Compounded with an employee shortage, which is a nationwide issue, people like Nikki will likely have to spend more time in the waiting room than getting treatment.

“We’re still able to triage patients, certainly the ones with acute events like stroke, MRI heart attack, etcetera, to where they’re seen immediately,” Frazier said.

Each week, healthcare leaders at Norton evaluate elective surgeries and what needs to be the priority as their patients continue to fight the virus.

While Frazier still advised patients to visit the ER if they have a life-threatening problem, Nikki said she prays she will never have to go back.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” she said. “It’s scary even if you don’t have COVID. If you do, you just don’t how you’re going to be treated.”

Copyright 2021 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.

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