People calling 911 for medical help potentially face long waits in Thurston County as ambulances hit bottlenecks at emergency rooms.
Hospitals are finding themselves flush with patients - and it's not just because of the pandemic. People are seeking emergency care at unprecedented levels, according to health care officials in Thurston County and elsewhere. As the beds fill up, it’s led to some hour-long waits for an ambulance to arrive.
Kurt Hardin, the emergency services director for Thurston County, said the problem comes up when paramedics and emergency medical technicians race patients to emergency rooms only to find hospital staff sometimes too swamped to see them right away.
“What we're finding is the emergency room departments are consistently full and so that's causing this ripple effect,” Hardin said.