Christy Yates, SGMC Emergency Room Patient

Editor:

I recently had cause to visit the SGMC ER. I am blessed with a GI tract that does not recover itself from routine stomach flu, food poisoning, etc. without medical intervention, so trips to the ER for fluids and IV medications are not unusual for me. In the past, I have utilized Smith’s ER, which was more conveniently located to me than SGMC. This instance was a bit different.  I arrived at SMGC at 4:30pm, after being turned away by Smith’s new urgent care unit (take note that ‘they don’t do abdominal issues’). I finally got to see a doctor at 11pm. Seven hours I waited, dividing my time between trying to lay on hard metal chairs and running to the bathroom (which was never cleaned the entire time I was there). If it weren’t for two dear friends that took turns sitting with me, I would have been helpless.

But this letter is not really about me (I’m ok, once I was finally seen and treated by Dr. Funt, whom I really liked, and two nurses who were quite professional and caring, I was released at 4 am and am recovering at home). This letter is an open plea to encourage changes in the state of emergency medicine in our community. I understand closing Smith ER was a practical move of organizational efficiency. I even agree with that decision based on sound business theory. But it’s clear that SGMC does not have the capacity to care for the amount of patients it is now tasked with seeing. A seven hour wait is unconscionable on a routine basis. The lack of cleanliness in a waiting room where patients are expected to wait seven hours is appalling. Only two bathroom stalls for that volume of patients is not acceptable.

I felt horrible for the nursing staff, particularly the triage nurses who had people begging them to be seen and all they could say was ‘I’m so sorry, I know you’re in pain, but we don’t have a bed for you’… over and over they had to chant this litany. It has to eat at their soul not to be able to help the sea of patients waiting.

If this situation was an anomaly, if there had been a 15 car pile up on I-75 with a ton of patients rushed in at once, I wouldn’t utter a peep. But when this is standard ER experience (as both staff and community members have confirmed to me), then it’s not acceptable. On top of being violently ill yesterday, I was also sickened by the capacity for emergency care our community is provided with. South Georgia Medical Center needs to address these issues. It needs to provide adequate staffing to meet the community’s needs. It needs to to put operational procedures in place to provide space resources, equipment and cleaning protocols that match its capacity demands.  SGMC ER needs an organizational overhaul. I can’t imagine that talented doctors and nurses will be long term employees in this environment. Investing in adequate staffing and resources will pay off in reduced turnover and increased operational efficiency. But most importantly, it will pay off in improved patient care experiences; something this community deserves, and should be demanding.