ER waits can be deadly

Did you read the story about a 30-year old man who died in the Emergency Room reportedly after waiting 8 hours to see a doctor? John Verrier showed up at Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx complaining of a rash. A hospital worker found him dead in the waiting room 8-hours later.

The hospital claims Verrier was checked numerous times but an unidentified employee told the New York Daily news that he was never seen. The employee says his name had been called several times but Verrier did not answer. The unidentified employee also blamed the tragedy on staff cuts at the hospital.

Waiting the in the ER is not unusual according to a 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office. That report showed an average wait time to see a physician in the emergency room is more than double the recommended time in some cases.

Research from Press Ganey Associates, a group that works with health care organizations to improve clinical outcomes, finds that in 2009, patients waited on average six hours in emergency rooms. Nearly 400,000 patients waited 24 hours or more.

Verrier allegedly suffered from drug addiction over the years. But his family says he had been clean for a while. Verrier’s brother Charles conveyed something a lot of patients may feel when they visit a hospital or doctor’s office. “You’re just a number no matter where you go. That’s how they treated him, like a number,” said Charles Verrier.

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