Local News Comments

What is it about "emergency' that people don't understand?

Got a broken leg go to the emergency room. Have the sniffles, go to prompt care.

The Emergency Department is NOT a Dr's office for drop in service. And, don't expect to be seen in any hurry, sniffles are at the bottom of the priority list.

An Emergency Dept is NOT "first come, first served."

K3UG-
No one mentioned sniffles. People are seriously ill. A little compassion wouldn't kill you.
Slim

Yup, its only the Beginning!!!

When your entitled the ER is the best place to go, The Govt will cover the cost.

ludicrous85 - You hit it right on the head , this is just the beginning !!

I have had excellent treatment at the prompt care on Mono. And absolutely horrible treatment at the hospital when an elderly family member was ground transported by ambulance for a nasty fall. Do yourself a favor and buy air ambulance insurance. It's cheap to have and if you are unfortunate enough to need trauma treatment, the air lift to Modesto will set you back $40,000 without air ambulance insurance. And that's often the case even for folks who have medical insurance. Check with your carrier!

Prompt care may not take you if you do not have insurance or medi-cal/CMSP. They may refer you to the the hospital so they can deal with your lack of insurance because they want guarentees they will collect for their services. Not everyone has some form of insurance. How does that saying go? CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

If you're poor and can't afford insurance (yet make too much for assistance), the Emergency room is one of the only places that won't turn you away.
Hence the very real need for health care reform.

From a financial standpoint, any ER is absolutely the worst place to go for treatment. As for the government covering the cost, even Medicare has deductibles, so it ain't free. But all that aside, it's kind of dumb to go to the ER if you just have a cold or the flu, but are otherwise healthy. There's no cure for either, you just have to work your way through it. You're more likely to infect other people while you are there, also.

This is exactly what Obamacare will try to fix when it finally kicks in next year. Many of those who use the ER for flu and all the other non-emergencies they misuse the ER for, will at least be forced to have minimum health insurance coverage so the rest of us won't have to foot the entire astronomical ER bills for them. The emergency room charges at least double for the same services you'd get at any doctor's office or clinic. If many of these people had to pay the bill themselves they'd never go to the ER. It's also not fair to choke to ER with non-emergency cases so that when the real emergencies arrive the facilities aren't stretched so thin that they have a hard time properly caring for them.

i say go to Dr or were ever it may be because thats why your going in first place you dont feel good and could be serious illness not just the sniffles i had what i thought was wart on toe no big deal went to ER ROOM because foot started hurting bad turned out to be Melonoma so some little thing can be bigger than you think just saying.

K3UG, sniffles? Really? I know some people, maybe even a lot of people, go to the ER when they could go elsewhere. But this influenza is bad. Believe me, I had a 104° fever for 2 days, my doc's office was booked solid and, when it hit 105° at 10:30 pm, the ER was sounding pretty good.

Last week I was in the ER for 14 hours and the bed next to me changed 3 times. All three had "sniffles"...this is not an emergency. And, Slim, compassion is there when necessary.

Wow, really, 8 to 6pm...oh, I get it, we only are allowed to be sick during work hours!
What about the rest of the world who has "prompt", needs after 6pm, maybe the hospital administration ought to look into putting some after-hours duty personnel on to handle the ER's overloaded patients.
Seems like a no brainer to me. When are the people coming to the ER, surely some computer genius should be able to predict the hourly demands, and adjust prompt care hours to meet those demands.
Really, !!, go to prompt care??

I know a lot of people with private insurance who use the ER or promt care and spend more instead of a doctor. Why I can't figure out. Me personally would prefer to go to my doctor and save some money. Agree as it will only get worse and it just isn't up here as it is all over. People don't get it. The hospital shouldn't complain since they have patients. See if Sabrina will post this one.. Have a great day and Happy Valentines to you all.. :)

There are many other options than SMRC for medical care. Remember this phrase; "If you're I'll get off the hill".

1. The Prompt Care clinics see anyone regardless of insurance. No one is ever turned away. It is much cheaper than the ER.
2. The Prompt Care clinics are already overwhelmed with patients, with one doctor seeing 30-60 patients a day. There is really no room to see more. I don't know what this "spokesman" is talking about.
3. Obamacare will improve access to primary care providers. It's up to consumers to avoid expensive emergency care by prioritizing prevention and follow up. Too many people ignore their health until it's an emergency.

Could you imagine any other business turning customers away.Let's see,they say they don't want to treat minor conditions. They can't treat major conditions and how many times have you read they medi-flighted people to Modesto for injuries. What is it they do? I've never heard of a hospital with such a narrow criteria for treating patients.

@ romeoq55, It's not narrow minded service. It's keeping you, the patient in mind. The hospital is trying to do all they can with the space they have. They are trying to make the wait times shorter for patients. If they can utilize all of their services for minor issues then the flow will be better for everyone. So I don't think they are turning patients away, but rather encouraging the public to use other resources that they might not know were available. I think people should finally try and look at the glass half-full and think maybe the hospital does care about you....just maybe... And for the person that said, If you're "I'll" get off the hill, take a spelling course.

I think romeoq55 may be on to something, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

Well, I'm quite thankful for the overload in the ER since it only took 5 minutes for us to get my son in to see a doctor at the Prompt Care near the fairgrounds. ;)

I believe Sonora Regional once stated that taken care of the work load was no problem, when Tuolumne General was closing down, Now it seems to be a big problem. Why don't they put a clinic on the property? Bottom line if you don't have insurance or cash to pay, no private doctor will see you up here. Er has to take you and you walk out the door free and clear knowing you will never have to pay the bill.

Mcarden I don't believe we are talking about medicare when referring to it not costing anything to go to the er. Medicaid has no deductible and most everyone on assistance (welfare) is covered by medicaid so they have no cost at all when they go to the er,dr,etc. As far as going to your own doctor when sick, My doctors office can never get me in when i'm sick. They allways suggest that I go to the er or prompt care. Often makes me wonder why I have a Dr but you need one to write your prescriptions ??? I believe most everyone who can afford insurance has it and don't see how Obama Care is going to improve on that. If we have to provide health care for even more people who can't afford insurance isn't it going to cost the working class folks more in taxes, fees whatever?

TGH closed for many reasons...one was they couldn't afford the earthquake retrofit required.....so they can't use the building for patient care....offices etc are o.k. but no clinics (I have been away from the scene for a while but that was my understanding) no money to put in to TGH for earthquake retrofit