Latest news with #emergencyroom
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta ER visits averaged nearly 4 hours last year, report finds
The entrance to the emergency department at Peter Lougheed hospital is pictured in, Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Patients in Alberta's emergency rooms spent a median time of three hours and 48 minutes per visit last year. That's from a new report by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) that shows wait times in the emergency room have not improved over the past year and have become worse over the last five years. The median length of stay, which is from arrival to discharge, or admission has increased by 54 minutes in Alberta over the past five years. Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI, says that Alberta is faring better than some other provinces. 'Despite the fact that Alberta performs better than most Canadian provinces, patients shouldn't be satisfied,' she said. 'They're still faced with wait times that are abnormal in many developed countries, and it remains important to understand that, even within the province, wait times can vary tremendously.' The longest median emergency room stays in Alberta were in the Edmonton region at five hours and 54 minutes and the Calgary region at four hours and 42 minutes. But it was the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton that had the longest median visits provincially at eight hours and 30 minutes. Two other Edmonton hospitals rounded out the top three worst. Wittevrongel says that one Maritime province faired the best when it came to wait times. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the shortest median stay at two hours and 45 minutes, while Quebec had the longest at five hours and 23 minutes. 'In all the provinces, wait times are worse today than they were five years ago, a clear sign that our health-care systems are struggling to provide their patients with timely access to care,' said Wittevrongel. MEI submitted freedom of information requests to each province seeking information on wait times. Data for Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia was not available. The full MEI publication can be accessed online.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Woman shares baffling experience with younger doctor during slang-filled check-up
The generation that came of age with TikTok is making up the newest crop of doctors — and bringing their unique slang, humor, and penchant for oversharing. Gen Z was born between 1997 and the early 2010s, meaning many are graduating from medical school and completing their more specialized residency programs at hospitals nationwide. And their millennial patients are grappling with this reality. 'If you have not had [a Gen Z doctor] yet, brace yourself,' said middle school teacher Mandi. Mandi was recently diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a condition where pressure builds up around the brain. She and her boyfriend went to urgent care after Mandi's latest fainting spell. 'The doctor comes in and she's like, 'Yo dawg, you passed out four times in the past 48 hours? You need to go to the emergency room. By ambulance.' 'She listened super patiently when my millennial boyfriend and I told her we can't afford the ambulance, and she said, 'Just don't pay it. What are they going to do?'' Mandi described the interaction as 'adorable', though some people are unnerved by their young doctors' nonchalance and casual bedside manner. Sammy, a mother of three, had a run-in with a young doctor in the emergency room, leaving her flummoxed. One of her daughters gets frequent, persistent nosebleeds. The family has tried every trick, she said: pinching the bridge of the nose, tipping the head forward, tipping the head backward, and more. Her daughter got a particularly severe nosebleed on the way to a birthday party. Her grandmother, who was with her at the time, brought her to the emergency room, where Sammy and her husband met them. The young doctor, whose exact age they don't know, talked to Sammy's daughter 'as if she's on his level or as if he is on her level.' The doctor explained to Sammy's daughter that the nose is full of delicate blood vessels, some very close to the brain, that can rupture, causing nosebleeds. Sammy went on: 'And out of nowhere, he just goes, 'And that's why we snort cocaine!'' She looked at her husband, and they exchanged dumbfounded looks. 'And he goes, 'Think about it, like, eating would be so much easier, but snorting takes it to your bloodstream so much faster,'' she laughed. When she tells that story, she says that people tell her they should have reported the doctor to his supervisors for unprofessional conduct. But Sammy shakes her head: 'No, I loved him,' adding that her daughter understood him clearly and appreciated his humor. Some patients report that younger doctors are more receptive to their needs and concerns, more empathetic, enthusiastic, and less likely to prescribe medications that pose significant health risks, such as benzodiazepines like Xanax. Reddit users characterize years of seeing doctors in their 60s and 70s as frustrating, futile endeavors to understand the cause of their pain or other symptoms. One called older doctors 'smug' and 'very comfortable with guessing as long as it's easy,' while another said, 'Old doctors don't care. Younger ones look for solutions.' A third said: 'I find that younger people care the most and have up-to-date knowledge, when older doctors just try to grab as much cash as they can for a fancy retirement.' Their experiences are not uniform, though. Others have described younger doctors as lacking the medical and clinical intuition that comes with years of practice and bedside manner. One patient said: 'I have a new doctor. I think he is younger than me. I told him I think I'm beginning perimenopause. He said probably not, it's just the 40-year-old hitting me and make me think I have [perimenopause]. 'I have to find a way to document everything now so I can show him that it's not just in my head.' Gen Z is projected to make up roughly 30 percent of the healthcare workforce by 2030. The older generation of doctors has expressed some trepidation about this and whether the younger doctors-in-training will be cut out for the years of schooling required to start treating patients. 'Because Generation Z is accustomed to getting information on demand, they may procrastinate until the last minute to complete assignments and expect instructors to be available 24/7 for questions,' said a trio of family medicine residency directors at Oakland University. 'Although they are adept at finding information, they may not analyze it for validity evidence. They lack skills to critically evaluate information and will require this training via engaging ways. 'Educators may need to assist them in finding and evaluating evidence that is accurate, as well as setting milestones for assignment completion.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘It's demoralizing': Victim details ‘suspicious' parking lot assault
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) — Westminster police are asking for help solving what they are calling a 'suspicious' parking lot assault in a popular shopping area. It happened around 11:30 p.m. near the parking lot of the Bowlero Bowling Alley in the Westminster Promenade. Denver woman struck by lightning after it hits tree in front of her window 'You don't have to hang out very long behind the Bowlero to have someone pass 20 mph,' said Michael Marquez. 'I've been aware of the traffic, but I've never had any incidents prior.' That was until May 19, when Marquez was walking through the Bowlero parking lot to a nearby bus stop to meet his girlfriend for a night out. He happened to come across a man in a parked van with a trailer hitch. 'He said, 'get out of here or I'm going to shoot you,'' Marquez said. 'So, I was like, 'hey man, I don't want any problems, I'm just walking to the bus stop.' I didn't think anything of it.' The next thing Marquez remembers is waking up in the emergency room with no recollection of how he ended up there. 'Honestly, I don't remember a lot, and that's what's kind of hindering us from finding more information,' he said. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Marquez later learned his girlfriend called the police to his apartment after finding him there covered in blood without any knowledge of what happened. 'She says I was standing right here completely dazed,' he said. He sustained multiple injuries. 'I had six staples in my head. I have scrapes and bruises on my entire body. I have four fractured ribs and a fractured scapula, which is a shoulder blade,' said Marquez. 'I also had a collapsed lung when I arrived to the ER.' Marquez, who works as a bartender, says the hardest part about it all is not being able to work. 'Sitting in this chair all day is driving me crazy,' he said. 'I'm finally starting to feel like I can move around in my own space. For days, it was I needed help to grab a glass of water or food. It's really demoralizing.' The 34-year-old hopes by sharing his story, someone will have information to solve this case. 'There's no cameras in the parking lot, from what WPD told me. At this point, we're kind of relying on someone who saw something to call in and say something,' said Marquez. 'It's not a road that's the main thing. Treat it like a parking lot and know people are going to be walking through it. Any parking lot, you should expect this.' He has this advice to share. 'Just be careful out there, even if you think you're safe, look both ways. I wouldn't be walking if I knew this was going to happen. I really thought I was in an area where I thought I would have been safe. So be vigilant,' said Marquez. 3 killed in crash on westbound I-70 in New Castle Tuesday: coroner Police urge anyone in the area around the time of the crime to check their surveillance cameras and give our partners with Metro Denver Crime Stoppers a call with any information. Authorities are investigating the case as an assault. The vehicle Marquez described is a Dodge Grand Caravan with a trailer hitch. Officers said it is unknown whether that vehicle was directly involved in the crime. Maquez's family has also set up a GoFundMe page to help him with expenses while he's out of work. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Medical day hospitals cutting down wait times, easing ER burden
Montreal General's day hospital is a way for the MUHC to reduce wait times and alleviate stress on emergency departments. (Olivia O'Malley/CTV News) The Montreal General Hospital believes its medical day hospital is a way to cut down wait times in the emergency room. Its team believes it has made a big difference. Angie Appiah, 26, was sent to the McGill university Health Centre (MUHC) medical day hospital for a follow-up on her blood sugar levels. 'This is like five-star treatment,' she said. 'As soon as I came in, they called me within five minutes and within an hour, I got to see the nurse. I got to see the doctor. They took my pressure. They were so quick. It's amazing.' The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) says that the day centre model has been used throughout Quebec for several years. The MUHC has been developing theirs since 2024. 'We're seeing positive results in terms of emergency room occupancy and hospital fluidity, which is very good news indeed,' the MSSS said. 'The MSSS encourages the sharing and implementation of such initiatives.' The mandate is to reduce patients' length of stay in the hospital. 'We're a way to get people out of there,' said Montreal General Medical Day Hospital director Dr. Patrizia Zanelli. 'We're a way to not just get people off of stretchers, but we're a way to get people out of the waiting room. We get people out of the hospital .' There are six nurses and one doctor, and patients are referred from anywhere within the MUHC. Staff see up to 22 patients a day. Zanelli said they are able to help with a variety of heat, lung and kidney problems. 'These are all patients that typically would have been earmarked to see an internal medicine specialist in the emergency room, but because the patient is well enough to leave, they can be seen even the next day,' said Zanelli. In its first year and change, the new day hospital has treated more than 2,000 patients and freed up beds in the ER. 'We cannot do this kind of work without the support of nursing patient attendance and having the entire hospital on board to get things done quickly,' said Zanelli.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
I Ended Up In The ER During A Vacation In Spain. Here's What Shocked Me The Most.
My family had just arrived at a seaside village on the east coast of Spain, where I was sitting on a white sand beach looking out at the implausibly blue water. The scene was straight out of a Mediterranean daydream, and yet I was panicking. My head was throbbing and had been since I'd slammed it into the bottom of a metal hotel safe a few days earlier. The pain and pressure had been keeping me up at night, along with the anxiety that came from Googling my symptoms. I'd tried every kind of medication I could find, but nothing could ease the pounding in my skull. After returning to our Airbnb, my husband urged me to make a telehealth appointment through our international health insurance. (As an American family living in France for the year, we were required to purchase this as part of our visa application.) A few minutes later, I described my symptoms to a Spanish doctor via chat using Google Translate. Hearing how long the pain had persisted, he advised me to see a doctor to rule out a brain injury. I frantically researched doctor's offices nearby, but the remote region had limited options, and I wasn't even sure how or where to secure an appointment. So, instead, we decided to go to the nearest emergency room. Leaving our son with his grandparents, my husband drove us to a small city about 35 minutes inland. As we pulled into the hospital's parking deck and then walked toward the front desk, I was struck by how similar it looked to hospitals in the U.S. My husband, thankfully fluent in Spanish, took the lead as we checked in, but the receptionist switched to English when she realized that I didn't speak Spanish. The receptionist asked for proof of our public healthcare coverage, but I explained that I have private international travel healthcare coverage — essentially expat insurance. She apologized, explaining that I would have to pay out of pocket for the ER visit and then request reimbursement from our insurance company since I hadn't secured prior approval for the hospital visit. I braced myself, thinking back to past experiences in American hospitals: The ER visit for chest pains that came with a $2,500 surprise bill a few months later. The breast biopsy, where I was forced to pay nearly $3,000 for the privilege of finding out whether or not the lump in my breast was cancerous. Of course, all of these charges were on top of the $12,000 insurance premium my family paid annually. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long to find out what we'd be paying. The receptionist explained that there was a 200€ flat fee for ER visits, pointing to a poster beside her desk that listed the hospital's costs in clear detail. She noted that if I needed additional tests or procedures, the total could increase. I released the breath I'd been holding, handing over my passport as insurance I would pay at the end of my visit. I released the breath I'd been holding, handing over my passport as insurance that I would pay at the end of my visit. Inside the hospital, things progressed as expected. We sat in a sterile room in uncomfortable plastic chairs with dozens of other uncomfortable-looking people. I briefly spoke with a hospital worker (in English), who assessed the severity of my situation and added me to the queue. I waited close to two hours before my name was called, and a young doctor led me into a room that looked like every American hospital room I'd ever been in — besides the fact that the posters on the wall were in Catalan. He took my vitals, asked about my symptoms (in English, with a bit of translating from my husband for clarity), and said he was going to order a CT scan just to be safe. We waited another hour for the scan, which was conducted using an ultra-modern machine by two efficient female techs. Shortly afterward, the doctor returned to share my results: No brain damage. He suspected that my headaches were being exacerbated by the anxiety and tension I had developed as a result of the injury, and he handed me a prescription for a common Spanish painkiller. He instructed me to return if my symptoms worsened or didn't clear up. Checking out at the front desk, I braced myself for the grand total, knowing from bitter experience that a CT scan can cost thousands of dollars in the U.S. I was pleasantly surprised when the receptionist told me that the final tally for my ER visit was 729€. After I paid, she handed me a disc with a copy of my CT scan for my records. She also gave me the documentation I needed to provide to my insurance company for reimbursement. Walking back to our car, I was overwhelmed with relief — both that I didn't have a brain injury and that we didn't have to pay thousands of dollars to confirm that I was going to be OK. Although an unexpected 729€ bill is indeed a hardship for most people (myself included!), I was comforted by knowing that it would be reimbursed and that it wasn't as much as it could have been back in the States. I also felt sad and frustrated thinking about the extreme shortcomings of our healthcare system in the U.S. — how even a basic doctor's visit comes with the worry of not knowing how much you'll have to pay to get the care you need. Far too often, Americans must choose between prioritizing their health or financial stability. The cost of an emergency room visit can vary greatly depending on the location; the average bill can easily be over $2,000 without insurance. Even with insurance, the numbers can be astronomical for the average American family. If critical care is required or surgery is performed, those costs could skyrocket to $20,000 or more. It's no surprise, then, that recent polls found that 40% of Americans carry some healthcare debt, despite more than 90% of the U.S. population having health insurance. If you, like me, are an American with hospital bill-related anxiety, it's a good idea to do some research on your destination before traveling abroad. Find out what type of facilities are available at your destination, if travel insurance is recommended there, and how to contact emergency services should the need arise. Additionally, Johns Hopkins Medicine advises that you know your blood type before you go abroad, carry documentation of any pre-existing conditions and medications, and fill out the information card in your passport with details like your address and phone number. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting in touch with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for help locating medical services, as well as enrolling in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) before going abroad. Consuls can also help you transfer funds from loved ones back home if you need them to pay for medical services. You can also check out the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers' directory of healthcare professionals around the world. Accidents and emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime, and you should always have a game plan ready to go. And whatever you do, don't delay care if you suspect the problem is serious. The outcome could be catastrophic. I Moved To France With My Son, And This Is One Culture Shock I Never Expected 5 Sneaky Signs Your Doctor Is Gaslighting You What Doctors Look For When Finding Their Own Doctor
