Patience Discharge from the Emergency Department

The CDC study of sixty two hospital records drawn from Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center and from Daniel Freeman Medical Center found that by Monday, 66. 1 % were discharged home. The remainder were either in the hospital (8. 1 %), sent to another hospital (4.8 %), or had died (6.5 %) (CDC, June 6, 1992). At Saint Francis Hospital some patients were reluctant to return home during the civil disturbance, particularly if they lived in the disaster area. Patients were treated and released from medical care but the recommendation was made to stay at the hospital rather than return home for their own protection. This occurred after staff heard gunshots during curfew. They stayed in the emergency department or in the parking lot. If the event had continued these people would have required food and shelter for an extended time, further drawing down the hospital's resources. In some cases patient's homes had been destroyed (Webster, 1992). In other cases, taxies, when available, transported patients who wanted to leave. Daniel Freeman Medical Center experienced similar problems and sheltered patients in the ambulatory care area. Patients remaining in the emergency department were not an immediate problem at Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center. Some patients were willing to return home after the curfew came into effect. All three hospitals eventually had problems with emergency department crowding. Relatives or friends who transported the injured stayed to check on their status. Some brought alleged looted products in with them. Sometimes, but not always, the crowding created security problems (see below). Generally, the problem resulted in unnecessary confusion.

Medical Care for the Injured

Continue to Post Disaster Patient Load in the Emergency Department

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