Pittsburgh-area hospitals feel impact of rising COVID-19 cases with emergency room wait times

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Two hours to nearly five hours is the current wait time at the emergency rooms in our area.

“The delay to start emergency care as well as getting through your emergency department care has grown over the past 2-3 months,” said Dr. Don Yealy with UPMC.

The patients wanting to be seen aren’t just COVID-19 patients, but the virus is adding to the stress.

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“In order to provide better care and people aren’t waiting for hours to be seen and may not need an emergency room visit, we are pushing the 412-NURSE-4U line,” said Dr. Brian Lamb with AHN.

Allegheny Health Network is pushing patients to call this team of nurses to determine where you need to go for your care.

“They will help triage your symptoms. They can talk to you and see where is the most appropriate level of care to get you to whether that’s your primary care, emergency room or urgent care,” Lamb said.

The goal is to help cut down on the crowds going into the ER. UPMC is encouraging patients to look at their symptoms and ask if they need to go to the hospital or can they call the doctor.

“What we want is for you to get the care you need in the most comfortable setting and as quickly as possible,” Yealy said.

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As for COVID-19, hospitals are preparing for yet another holiday surge. AHN said it is seeing more patients, but still has plenty of room. UPMC said it’s an all-time high for the year.

“Is it a challenge absolutely, but we will be open for you when you need us, we will be available when you need us,” Yealy said.

Channel 11 also checked in with Butler Health System. The CMO told us the hospital hit a peak of COVID-19 cases at the end of November, but capacity remains a concern for them.

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