In a statement released Wednesday, Jan. 5, Randy Schwan, Vice President of Mission Integration at Trinity Health, addressed the fact that the Trinity Health Emergency Department was having to board patients in emergency department (ED) rooms because of a lack of available beds in the hospital. In an email to The Dakotan, VP Schwan addresses the current situation.
Statement from Randy Schwan, Vice President of Mission Integration:
“Trinity Health’s Emergency/Trauma Center operates like every other emergency department (ED) in the country – assess patients and triage them according to their needs. But EDs do not control the pace of patient arrivals, they simply try to manage who needs to be seen first versus who might be able to wait.
“During the pandemic we’ve seen longer delays for inpatient beds, which creates backup/boarding in the ED due to capacity, staffing, and other factors – factors that every other hospital is dealing with. What might seem to be a concern to this person or other observer is actually a situation that is managed pretty well and that represents normal operations for most hospitals today.
“Our new facility will feature more ED beds and a whole different patient flow to hospitalization due to the floors having more flexibility to expand/contract the inpatient units. But the future benefits of a new hospital in no way detract from the fact that our team has worked tirelessly around the clock to provide great care in a busy ER during a pandemic.”
