Corewell Health is asking people to stop coming to the emergency rooms of its hospitals when they aren’t facing an actual emergency.
During a meeting Thursday, Corewell West Michigan Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charles Gibson said wait times at the ERs are growing as the system deals with high levels of flu, COVID, and RSV. However, he said not all the people who come to the ER need to.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people are utilizing the ER for some of these cases, how they’re feeling, and it’s not always necessarily the best place for them to go, but it’s something that feels comforting,” Gibson said. “Like they know, ‘I can go to the hospital, they’re gonna see me, they’re gonna take care of me.’ And what that’s translated into is a lot of people come into the hospital all at once.”
Corewell says if your symptoms aren’t emergency-level, you should reach out to a doctor’s office first.
Dr. Matthew Sims, Director of Infectious Diseases Research at Corewell in Southeast Michigan, said the system is busy coping with the ongoing flu outbreak.
“Influenza is up to between 25 and 30 percent positivity right now,” Sims said. “So it means that out of every 10 people who are getting tested, two to three are testing positive.”
Sims said the combination of flu, COVID, and RSV has put a strain on the system and some of the people coming to the ER could just see their doctor instead.
Corewell’s message to the community is to “make sure the symptoms match the setting.”
