# ACEP calls emergency care 'national disgrace'



## LucidResq (Dec 11, 2008)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28148474/



> The nation’s emergency care system is “a ticking time bomb,” with demand far outstripping the capacity of hospital emergency departments already crippled by a widespread shortage of doctors and nurses, according to a national report on the state of emergency medicine.
> 
> The annual report card by the American College of Emergency Physicians gave the nation a D- grade for Americans’ access to emergency care, saying the emergency care system was “fraught with significant challenges and under more stress than ever before.”


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## lightsandsirens5 (Dec 11, 2008)

What like It's OUR fault????:angry:


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## LucidResq (Dec 11, 2008)

Actually the report is focused on emergency rooms, and the doctors stressed that the problems have nothing to do with the health care providers, rather it is a problem with the policies that create the environment they work in and provide the resources (or lack thereof) that they have to work with. 

By the way, Massachusetts ranked #1 and Arkansas was #50.


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## bstone (Dec 11, 2008)

LucidResq said:


> Actually the report is focused on emergency rooms, and the doctors stressed that the problems have nothing to do with the health care providers, rather it is a problem with the policies that create the environment they work in and provide the resources (or lack thereof) that they have to work with.
> 
> By the way, Massachusetts ranked #1 and Arkansas was #50.



MA has socialized health care. I wonder if that contributes to the #1 status. I am proud of it. Friends who work at fast-food places can finally afford health care.


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## VentMedic (Dec 11, 2008)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> What like It's OUR fault????:angry:


 
Washington DC is ranked at the top in these ratings.  However, that is not the case for their EMS system.


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## BossyCow (Dec 11, 2008)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> What like It's OUR fault????:angry:



I don't this this is an issue of blame. But we do need to look at the system and try to better it. Studies like this are a starting place.


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## Ridryder911 (Dec 11, 2008)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> What like It's OUR fault????:angry:



What grade you give EMS nationallly? I would not even give it an F. It's horrible from sea to shining sea. 

R/r 911


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## BossyCow (Dec 11, 2008)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> What like It's OUR fault????:angry:



On second though.. yes.. it is your fault. Yours personally! The attitude that its some other agency/government department/state/manager/person's responsibility to fix what is not working in EMS is exactly the attitude that got us into this mess. 

Its your fault, mine, and everyone else who works in EMS. Its our fault we allowed it to deteriorate. Its our fault we haven't helped it to grow into what it could be. It's our fault and our responsibility to fix it. Now!


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## GonnaBeEMT (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm sad to say my state ranks the lowest in the nation.  It is really a shame that our state had a surplus in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and public health and safety is suffering.  i would love to see a matching funds grant up to a specifided amount specifically for hospital ER depts.  I may be wrong, but i think if hospital admins knew the state would match money put into emergency staffing, then they would straighten things out pretty fast.


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## medicdan (Dec 12, 2008)

MA has great access, but also great abuse of the system. With mandatory health care, PCP is being avoided and patients are going to the ER for Rx refils, and by EMS. 
I guess I need to look at the data a little closer, I dont really understand it. Can anyone explain this? Am I not seeing something here?


> While Massachusetts fared well overall with
> regard to Access to Emergency Care, the state
> faces a high hospital occupancy rate (75.4
> per 100 staffed beds) and a comparatively
> ...


Okay, i agree we have high hospital occupancy rates, but I think that's related to most of our hospitals being academic medical centers (with several well known/ranked, attracting patients from all over the country and world). We are having trouble with ER Diversions (soon to be no more)...
What I dont understand is the low number of ER beds per capita. We are a small state, with a few large urban centers, and suburbs with satellite medical centers to support it. In the city of boston we have no less then 6 large Level I trauma centers. How does that mean we dont have enough ER beds?

So, we have this national data, we can talk about it, but what can we do about it? How can we fix this? What is the next step? How can we fix EMS?


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## Zeke (Dec 12, 2008)

BossyCow said:


> On second though.. yes.. it is your fault. Yours personally! The attitude that its some other agency/government department/state/manager/person's responsibility to fix what is not working in EMS is exactly the attitude that got us into this mess.
> 
> Its your fault, mine, and everyone else who works in EMS. Its our fault we allowed it to deteriorate. Its our fault we haven't helped it to grow into what it could be. It's our fault and our responsibility to fix it. Now!



Unfortunately we fix everything by increasing regulation.


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## BossyCow (Dec 13, 2008)

Zeke said:


> Unfortunately we fix everything by increasing regulation.



What do you mean by 'we'. I personally have not increased regulations. We need to take this personally. We need to take a personal interest. And we need to become personally involved.. those not involved lose their right to complain in my hearing.


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