Four Cleveland hospital systems have agreed to stop diverting ambulances from their emergency rooms, according to a report from The Plain Dealer.
Here are five things to know about the agreement.
1. The agreement is between Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.
2. Under the agreement, emergency rooms at the four hospital systems will accept EMS patients at anytime, regardless of their traffic volumes, by Feb. 15, according to the report. This essentially means hospitals that become too busy will no longer divert ambulances to other emergency rooms.
3. Officials touted the agreement, saying it will make things run more smoothly and ensure patients are taken to the facilities closest to where they live, according to The Plain Dealer.
4. The agreement will roll out gradually, with only one hospital shutting its emergency room to ambulance traffic at a time, according to the report. No shutdown will exceed four hours. By Feb. 15, 2016, diversions will be entirely phased out.
5. Once the agreement is fully in effect, Cleveland will be one of the few communities in the nation where hospitals never close their emergency rooms to incoming ambulance traffic, according to The Plain Dealer.
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