Sacramento ER wait times dramatically improve from being worst in state a year ago
The winter holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for ambulances and emergency rooms.
For years, Sacramento County has struggled with having above-average hospital wait times. But over the last year, those numbers have gone down.
This time last year, Sacramento had the worst hospital emergency room wait times in the state.
"Obviously, it was very concerning," said Brian Jensen with the Northern and Central California Hospital Council. "It's something we've been focused on for years."
The county requires patients brought to the hospital by ambulance to be seen within 20 minutes, but last December, 1,600 people had to wait more than an hour and 15 had to wait more than five hours.
"That patient could be deteriorating," said Dr. Greg Kann with the Sacramento County EMS Agency. "They could have an unseen medical condition that is getting worse."
During those hours, ambulances are stuck at the hospital waiting for a place to put their patients, and at times, there are no units available to respond to 911 emergencies.
Over the last year, the EMS system has made a series of changes, and by last month, the wait time had dropped to just 28 minutes — 8 minutes shy of the requirement.
"We have so much to celebrate," Jensen said. "It's really, really good news for health care in Sacramento."
Changes include adding new private ambulances to handle less severe medical emergencies and using mobile health units and telemedicine that can treat some patients in the field.
Paramedics can also now transport patients directly to a mental health facility or sobering center instead of the emergency room.
"People with those needs can get quicker care, more appropriate care," Jensen said.
Hospitals have also made improvements, adding new spaces where multiple patients can be monitored by just one paramedic crew so other ambulances can go back into service.
"All those things together, these layers of solutions are really what's yielding this great result," Jensen said.
Beginning next week, state law will also require hospitals to start using electronic tracking to monitor ambulance offload times.