Sparrow impacted by crowded emergency rooms
Waiting hours in the emergency room without a bed is not ideal.
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Too many patients and not enough staff to care for them.
Those are the reasons Sparrow Hospital said it’s running out of room in the emergency room and waiting hours in the emergency room without a bed is not ideal.
“I was amazed at what I saw. I mean the halls were just filled with gurneys and reclining chairs and people were sitting in them out in the middle of everywhere,” said Becky Deadman. “I mean it was just crazy.”
Deadman’s mother was advised to go to the Sparrow emergency room after having trouble breathing and had to wait in a recliner in the hall.
“She’s a 74-year-old woman with a heart condition which is why she came in and they leave her sitting in a chair,” said Deadman.
Sparrow Chief Nursing Officer Amy Brown said the reason beds are not available is because there’s not enough nurses.
“Although it’s not ideal they do provide care to those patients in the emergency department and our goal is to get those patients up to an inpatient bed as quickly as possible,” said Brown.
Chief of EMS Operations Ralph Ortiz said that his ambulance crews have waited hours outside of the emergency room with patients on the gurney.
“They need availability upstairs to admit patients so if they don’t have that they just get stuck in the ER and then we get stuck waiting for space in the ER,” said Ortiz.
This delays EMS workers from getting back on the road and responding to future emergency calls.
“It just kind of creates this huge backlog,” said Ortiz.
“And the patients are the ones suffering,” said Deadman.
Deadman’s mother is now in a room being treated. Sparrow said they want to make sure emergency room patients like Deadman’s mom receive the care they need.
“We’re doing the best we can to get people in the right place to receive the right care,” said Brown.
Sparrow has units in the hospital completely closed right now due to low staffing issues. The hospital said it’s doing its best to fill open positions.
Read next:
- Woman charged with murder in Lake Lansing drowning of 4-year-old boy
- Authorities seek suspects in Grass Lake Schools vandalism
- Hillsdale welcomes another business, Fether Studios to its historic downtown
- Jackson non-profit to provide birthday cakes to underprivileged youth
Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning.
Copyright 2023 WILX. All rights reserved.
