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Tuesday, January 25, 1972
University Daily Kansan
Med Center Emergency Room:
All Kinds of Cases Handled
Patients Take Numbers
.. Non-emergency cases must wait ..
Aides, Ambulance Driver, Police Wheel in Patient .. Number taking suspended for emergencies ..
Student Sews Up Laceration
Find time to study between calls
Student Takes
Call from Worried Person
... No charge made for advice over phone ...
Photos by Bill Seymour
By SCOTT SPREIER Campus Editor
A sign on the counter reads "Please Take a Number and Wait at the Desk." Behind the counter attendants in white coats move swiftly and with little hesitation."
It reminds you of a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop, but it's not. Its the emergency ward of the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the similarities end at the front desk.
To the untrained eye, the emergency ward appears to be a highly disorganized operation, almost always on the verge of total chaos.
A closer look proves the opposite to be true. For actual emergencies there is little or no waiting. A nurse at the counter screens incoming patients. Those considered emergencies are immediately taken to the emergency room. Other patients must fill out all the necessary forms, and then wait—sometimes up to an hour—before being seen by a doctor.
Most patients are first examined by a senior medical student. A tour of duty in the emergency ward is a six-week elective senior students may enroll in.
Every; he is seen by a doctor, regardless of his financial status or physical condition. Dr. William Sosnow, director of the emergency ward, said most of the patients were not ill, and most of the clinic because it is easy to进入. Many regular doctor and have nowhere else to go.
After the patients have been seen and treated, a resident examinates them, checking
There are also people who have little wrong with them, but come to the emergency room—usually late at night—because they can’t sleep. They can’t sleep. These also are seen by a doctor.
In a 24-hour period, the emergency ward averages about 125 patients. The 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift is the busiest one, averaging 60 to 70 percent of the patients. Increases on Friday and Saturday nights.
The emergency center is equipped to handle up to 12 cases at one time. However the hospital also has a plan to handle a much heavier load in case of a major catastrophe.
The emergency staff includes a surgical, medical and pediatric resident, three to five students, and two new graduate trainees.
The night these pictures were taken was a slow one for the ward. Only 33 cases were seen on the three to 11 shift. Eighteen of those cases had been treated, only three of those remained in the hospital.
In addition to its other duties, the emergency ward also operates a methadone clinic. The program, which has been in existence for several years, provides patients who come in daily for treatment.
It was an unusually cold day, which may have cut down on the number of cases. Most of them were simple accidents, often with fire set in wet stoves. Several were due to falls on ice.
Linda Ellis, R.N. Soothes Injured Boy . . . Work includes comforting patients . . .