Hospitals in the San Diego area are making various efforts to counter overcrowding in their emergency rooms, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Here are three things to know.
1. The Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties data show local facilities saw 20 percent more emergency patients last year than they did in 2011, according to the report.
2. According to the report, the growth in emergency patients has crowded many local waiting rooms and significantly increased the number of hours that the busiest locations must prohibited ambulance traffic due to capacity issues.
3. Hospitals in the San Diego area are responding to this in various ways. They are investing in new methodology, technology and personnel to help increase efficiency, and the local health department is stepping up funding for patients with psychiatric illnesses which are putting increasing pressure on emergency services, according to the report. For instance, Scott Evans, CEO of Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, Calif., told The San Diego Union-Tribune his organization has added a nurse practitioner to its triage department. He told the publication Grossmont has also created a new "bed czar" position to monitor patient discharges from the hospital.
For more on this story, read full report in The San Diego Union-Tribune.