HCA Southwest Virginia Hospitals Going Public with ER Wait Times

See HCA Southwest VA Average ER Wait Times Now

Salem, Virginia, May 3, 2010 – Patients visiting the emergency room at any of the four regional HCA Virginia hospitals (Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Alleghany Regional Hospital, Montgomery Regional Hospital, and Pulaski Community Hospital) no longer need to guess how long they’ll wait before receiving care.  Now they can find out in advance, thanks to a new program that publicizes each hospital’s average wait times via text messaging, electronic banner ads and the Internet.  

"Making sure patients get efficient and timely care is one of our top priorities. In fact, we've developed several innovative methods to see patients faster," said Victor Giovanetti, President of HCA Southwest Virginia.  "All four of our hospitals currently have an average wait time of 30 minutes or less, which is less than the industry average."

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average hospital ER wait time is 55 minutes, up from 38 minutes 10 years ago.  The increase has been caused in part by an explosion of ER traffic nationally – a 32 percent increase over the past decade.  HCA Southwest Virginia hospitals had 98,174 ER visits in 2009, up more than 4 percent from just the previous year.

This technology, which has already been piloted successfully by several HCA hospitals in Florida, is designed for patients with relatively minor medical conditions such as a sports injury or dehydration – not for those with chest pain or other potentially life-threatening health problems.  Those patients should call 911 so they can receive life-saving measures in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Wait times are tracked using a statistical tracker system in the ER which transfers data to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. This feed automatically displays and updates the time online at http://southwest.hcavirginia.com and online banner ads.  Cell-phone users can text ER to 23000 and will receive a text back with the most up-to-date wait time of the HCA Southwest Virginia hospital closest to them. 

Wait times reflect a rolling four-hour average and are updated every 30 minutes.  The term is defined as the time between entering the ER and beginning the medical screening examination from a qualified medical professional – either a physician, a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner.  Patients are seen in priority order based on the type and severity of their medical complaint. 

HCA Virginia Health System is the first to offer this technology in Southwest Virginia.

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About HCA Southwest Virginia
HCA Virginia is a network of locally managed hospitals, surgery centers, outpatient diagnostic and treatment facilities, and physician practices in Central, Southwestern, and Northern Virginia.  HCA Virginia has 10,000 full-time employees statewide.  Each year it provides approximately $100 million in free care to the uninsured, pays $100 million in taxes and donate monies to dozens of non-profit organizations and causes.  In Southwest Virginia, HCA Virginia includes Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Alleghany Regional Hospital, Montgomery Regional Hospital, Pulaski Community Hospital, several outpatient centers and hundreds of partnering physicians.  All four hospitals consistently rank in the top 10 percent of all U.S. hospitals and in the top 10 in the state for quality care, including health outcomes, patient safety and patient satisfaction. For more information see www.HCAVirginia.com. 

CONTACT:  
Joy Sutton, Marketing Communications Mgr.
(540) 776-4739 or (540) 529-3137

Nancy May, VP Marketing & PR
(540) 776-4754 or (540) 537-3475