Fresno County is urging people to not visit local emergency rooms since they are in the midst of a historic number of admitted patients.
The county released a message Monday pleading with the public to seek out alternate care options.
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The big picture: Fresno County said local hospitals are severely impacted currently with a record number of admitted patients and people accessing the emergency department with non-urgent medical problems.
- County officials are asking the public to seek non-emergency care at urgent care centers, clinics and physician’s offices, or to use telehealth through insurance carriers.
- Emergency department waiting times are regularly exceeding 10 hours for patients who are not experiencing emergencies.
- Ambulances are often waiting one to two hours to turn over patients at hospitals.
- The county warns that hospitals may need to temporarily divert patients for a period of time until it is safe to re-open if conditions do not improve. That, the county says, would place significant pressure on other local hospitals that remain open.
- Hospitals are operating at least 20 to 40 percent over maximum capacity currently and are holding admitted patients in their emergency departments for up to four days.
- Hospitals are also using conference rooms and non-patient areas to hold patients.
Driving the news: The high patient volume is because of a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses caused by many circulating viruses.
- Those viruses include Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza and COVID-19.
What they’re saying: “We need everyone’s help to slow down the number of people using the emergency room for non-emergency medical issues,” said Dan Lynch, Fresno County Emergency Medical Services Director.
