ATLANTA — Several metro Atlanta emergency rooms are facing high wait times. Some say it's due to staff shortages and workplace challenges.
Viewer Casey Hampton reached out to 11Alive after his wait time at two Emory Healthcare hospitals added up to a more than 13-hour wait.
"This is a crisis. If you go to an emergency room, you may be waiting for 9 to 10 hours before you ever get care," he said.
Hampton's search for a doctor at 2 p.m. on Monday turned into a 28-hour ordeal. So much so, that he documented it on his Twitter account.
He first went to Emory University Hospital on Clifton Road with a Crohn's disease flare-up.
"I said, 'Hey is there any idea when I'm going to be seen?' The receptionist said, 'No, we can't give you any idea about that. We're very busy. We'll get to you when we get to you'," he recalled.
But that time never came. He says that he was in the waiting room for seven hours until he couldn't tolerate the pain any longer and decided to try Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital.
"I broke out into a cold sweat," he said. "I was vomiting blood, I was shaking uncontrollably. I was itching all over the place. I'll never forget, I was in so much pain, and when I opened the door, the nurse said it'll be a six-hour wait."
Once you register at the front desk, there's an app that tracks how much longer you'll have to wait, but he says it wasn't working right.
"It would go an hour and 30 minutes, hour and 20, 50 minutes, 30, 20, 10... and then it would say we're experiencing delays and then it would start all over again," Hampton added. "I said, 'Look I just had a bowel movement and I had blood in it. I'm really worried.' The doctor said, 'We have no place for you.'"
Hopeful that he would eventually get a bed, he stayed, but the clock ticked.
By then it was 6 a.m., and after waiting 8 hours, he ordered an $88 Uber to Piedmont Hospital in Jasper where he waited 10 minutes to be seen.
11Alive reached out to Emory Healthcare. In a statement, it said:
We understand the concerns our patients have when facing a long wait time, especially when not feeling well, and we are doing everything possible to streamline treatment and care.
The well-being of our patients, care team members and community are top priorities at Emory Healthcare. Across the country, workforce challenges and staffing shortages have impacted the operations and wait times for many industries and businesses including Emory Healthcare.
Hampton says he wishes he had checked the wait times at other locations before moving.
"They said they didn't have any bed space back there but it's an ER... You should have some space within 8 hours," he said.
Similar situations are happening in many hospitals across Georgia. According to the website, Emergency Room Near Me, Grady Memorial Hospital has a 14-hour average wait time to be seen in the ER.
If you're ever in this situation, check urgent cares nearby.
Some hospital systems, including Piedmont Hospital, have wait times online, where according to its website, some locations were experiencing anywhere from no-wait to a more than 30-hour wait Thursday afternoon.
"If you can't accept patients, you need to go in diversion," Hampton said.
The Georgia Coordinating Center also tracks how busy local hospitals are.
Thursday night, it said Emory Saint Joseph's was at a severe patient level, with diversions from its ER, ICU, and NICU.
To see how busy hospitals near you might be, click here.