Ambulance crews in Knox County say they were enduring prolonged wait times at overcrowded hospitals. The Tennova hospital in Powell was so full Thursday, it told ambulances not to bring any more patients to its emergency room.
"This is the first time since I've been here a hospital has gone on divert status," said Ken Lofits, Knox County operations manager for AMR ambulance service. "I think it's a smart move by them [North Knoxville Medical Center]. Why continue to take patients if you can't take them? I'm hoping it doesn't last long. It could go on for a little while. Unfortunately, the 911 phone keeps ringing."
According to a spokesperson with AMR, Tennova North moved off diversion Friday morning.
Loftis said ambulance crews could typically expect wait times of an hour at emergency rooms a couple of months ago. But on Thursday, crews were enduring waits of three to seven hours, in some cases.
"With crews having to remain at the hospital for a prolonged period of time, that's less trucks I have to run the emergencies in the street."
Winter is typically a busy time for hospitals. Now, emergency rooms across Knox County are dealing with an additional burden due to the recent closure of Tennova's Physicians Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in the northern part of the city, a longtime hospital previously known as St. Mary's.
"When they [PRMC] closed, that's approximately 200 to 250 in-patient hospital beds that are gone now in addition to its busy emergency room," said Loftis. "Our crews and trucks are basically serving as an extension of the other hospitals. We wait with the patients and monitor their condition until they can be seen. If we have too many trucks at a hospital, we will leave patients with one of our other crews. One crew can monitor four patients."
Some hospitals in Knox County already have plans to expand their capacities. In the meantime, patients can help by only calling for an ambulance in a true emergency.
"We have calls for ambulances for conditions that can be treated at a physician's office instead of the emergency room. I have had patients tell me they call the ambulance because they think they will be admitted to the hospital faster, but that is not the case. The emergency rooms triage patients and treat them based on how urgent the case is, regardless of how they were transported to the hospital," said Loftis.
With the closure of PRMC and the hospital in Powell on divert-status, there were four emergency rooms in Knox County where ambulance crews can transport adults. They include UT Medical Center, Fort Sanders, Parkwest, and Turkey Creek Medical Center.
Loftis said the prolonged wait times are due to more than the closure of one hospital.
"It is a multi-faceted thing with shortages in beds, inadequate staffing at hospitals, EMT shortages, and a lack of psychiatric hospitals. There is no easy solution. If I could think of one, I would be very popular in this region," said Loftis.