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Mesa Hospital Overwhelmed: Record Number of Patients Causes 3-Hour Banner Baywood ER Closure

Posted on: Monday, 2 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Hayley Ringle, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz., The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Jan. 2--A record-breaking number of patients, most with flu and pneumonia, caused east Mesa's Banner Baywood Medical Center to close its emergency department for about three hours New Year's Day.

Outside the medical center, paramedics from the Mesa Fire Department assessed potential patients, referring them to other hospitals as Baywood surged to capacity.

"You try everything you can creatively to help patients," said the hospital's public relations director, Coiya Lynne. "This flu is just killing us." Baywood's emergency department closed at 11:30 a.m. after more than 90 patients needed immediate attention. Fifty still needed to be seen when the department closed and another 43 patients were waiting for beds. The department reopened about 2:30 p.m., Lynne said.

Officials did not know how many patients may have been turned away when Baywood closed for three hours. The medical center partnered with the fire department to help potential patients requiring emergency treatment and to offer suggestions on where else to go.

Bill J. Schellhas of Mesa brought his father, Bill D. Schellhas, to Baywood at 11 a.m., just before the emergency department was temporarily closed. His father has lupus and emphysema, and probably has pneumonia, his son said. The two were still waiting for lab results and a bed in the waiting room at 6 p.m.

"It's been quite interesting," said Bill J. Schellhas, who was still in his pajamas. "It's not too bad, though. They came around with juices. Given the season . . . you have to understand." Baywood has been in crisis intervention mode since Wednesday because of the increased number of patients. The medical center's endoscopy, pain and recovery units had been temporarily turned into inpatient units, which provided an additional 12 beds for patients and enabled the center to treat people who would otherwise have to wait longer to be admitted, Lynne said.

The medical center was also postponing elective and nonemergency surgeries, and discharging patients who were ready to go home, she said.

Deb Krmpotic, Baywood's chief nursing officer, said taking in more sick people than the hospital can handle is "kind of dangerous.""We're putting patients at risk if we're taking in more than we can serve," she said.

To help avoid trips to the hospital, she suggests sick people see their primary physician early to ward off pneumonia. She also said sick people should stay at home to avoid making others sick.

Although this is the time of year people generally get sick, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified Arizona as having "widespread" influenza, with nearly 1,000 labconfirmed cases statewide.

No other East Valley hospitals were forced to close their ERs Sunday, but they were packed with patients.

Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital's emergency room had about a two- to fourhour wait time throughout the past week, said Keith Jones, media relations manager.

"We've been seeing around 200 patients a day for the past week, which is somewhat higher than normal," said Jones, adding normally the hospital would see 150 patients a day in the emergency room.

Many incoming patients had respiratory problems, flulike symptoms and colds, which is the "same thing we see this time of the year every year," Jones said.

Scottsdale Healthcare Shea hospital had similar patient numbers and wait times, Jones said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

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Source: The Tribune

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