Emergency Department Boarding Stories

"I am a steady night time ED doctor for many years now. I work in a 34 bed ED in [redacted]. At night we normally staff enough nurses a PA or NP and myself for 20 patients. We calculate one RN to four patients. Unfortunately, over the past year or more we have nights we hold 20 or more patients in the ED waiting for beds. Some are ICU patients. In the unit they would have one nurse to one to two patients.

Ours nurses will have one or more sick patients that take lots of work and at least three other patients. Some nights seven patients to one nurse. This is not safe. We can not turn people away when over whelmed. That means many people sit in the waiting room uncared for for eight to nine or up to 12 hours waiting to be seen. The agency’s that should be worried about this are more concerned we have cork boards in the dictation area. Also charting is getting more cumbersome less time with patients. Need some federal help."