High rate of illnesses pushing ER to overflow

Alex Simone, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read
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Dec. 4—Having a full emergency room is a constant issue for hospitals, but the strain on Mosaic Life Care increases when winter hits.

The ER normally fills up during winter because it's the peak season for flu and RSV. But the severity of those viruses this year means even more patients than most years are coming in, said Dr. Davin Turner, Mosaic Life Care's chief administration officer.

"The numbers are, basically, the last week or two have just doubled every week, which has led to increased hospitalizations, even here," he said. "And our census is running over 250 patients in the hospital."

Having so many ER patients highlights the importance of other resources, like general physicians and urgent care centers.

Many concerns, like viral visits or sometimes broken bones, can be handled outside the ER, Urgent Care Express Operations Manager Tiffany Kiehl said.

"We don't want to overload the ER with the typical illnesses that you can go to your primary care for," she said. "Come to urgent care instead of the emergency room, let them take care of that."

Urgent Care Express went from seeing around 60 patients a day to 80 or 90 when COVID-19 hit, Kiehl said. On top of that, she said numbers typically increase during winter anyway.

One of the key factors for urgent care centers is availability, Kiehl said.

"We're open until 8 during the week, so if you can't get into your doctor by the time they close, you can always come to us for an option," she said. "And of course on the weekends."

The overcrowding isn't limited to Mosaic. Similar issues at other hospitals, like Children's Mercy and KU Medical Center in Kansas City, mean that Mosaic sometimes is limited even when a medical transfer is needed.

One advantage for the hospital is having satellite locations, like the medical clinic in Maryville, Turner said. That makes transferring some patients easier because they can stay in-system.

Local urgent care options in the area include:

— Concentra Urgent Care, 904 Edmond St. or 5506 Corporate Drive, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

— Urgent Care Express, 4776 Verona Drive, is open 8 to 8 during the week and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

— Mosaic Urgent Care, 1115 N. Belt Highway, is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and until 6 p.m. on weekends.

Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.