Party’s Over: Coping with the Post-Labor Day Rush at Emergency Departments

The average national emergency department wait to see a physician, NP, or PA is approximately 58.1 minutes; however, wait times can drastically increase on the day following a national holiday as emergency departments try to cope with an influx of patients seeking care. Amanda Cuda in an article for CTpost.com notes, “Typically, when people get non-life-threatening injuries on a holiday, they tend to put off going to the hospital until the party is over.” People living with chronic conditions are more inclined to ignore them during Labor Day weekend, in favor of potato salad, cheeseburgers, beer, and chips. However, with such an escalated intake in fatty and salty foods, chronic conditions, such as heart disease, can become dangerously exacerbated. Other typical causes of post-Labor Day illnesses can include food poisoning, injuries related to overindulgence of alcohol, and public safety injuries. According to a study on emergency department crowding by Kiran A. Faryar, in “addition to being a nuisance, emergency department crowding leads to unsafe medical practice and delayed patient care…[and] negatively impacts staff morale.” Some of the negative effects of emergency department crowding include “absenteeism, staff sickness, and early burnout.” Faryar notes that, “providing medical care is becoming more complex and time intensive.” To cope with the influx of patients, emergency departments are working towards a number of different solutions, including establishing walk-in clinics, supplementing personnel, and opening observation units. Locum tenens providers can deliver the necessary qualified physicians, NPs, and PAs on a temporary basis to assist in maximizing patient care and decreasing emergency department wait times. For more information on how locum tenens can help your emergency department handle an ever increasing patient volume, please visit Bartonassociates.com.