The president of Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., says the hospital has been at capacity for several days after an increase in patients that started in February, according to a Citizen-Times report.
On March 6, Mission Hospital President Jill Hoggard Green said the hospital had been at capacity for nine days straight. Hospital management is unsure of the reasons for the uptick in patients, which began Feb. 20 and has remained steady since, according to the report.
Last week, the hospital called two "code triage" alerts, which deploys an incident command system meant for a disaster or mass injury event and calls for additional staffing. Other Mission practices and locations are extending their hours to help alleviate the problem, according to the report.
On March 8, Ms. Hoggard Green issued a statement: "While the volume is still high, today it is the lowest it has been in nearly two weeks."
She has said critically ill and trauma patients should still come to the ER, although patients who are not as acutely ill should seek care at a primary care physician's office or an urgent care facility if possible.
Questions about some recent staffing decisions have been raised, as Mission Health has cut about 130 jobs this year. Ms. Hoggard Green said most of them were administrative, according to the report.