Ambulance Diversions Increase in Los Angeles County

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

Ambulance Diversions Increase in Los Angeles County

Source: California Healthline (http://www.californiahealthline.org)
Date: March 9, 2006

 
Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted
paramedic ambulances 8% more often than in 2004, according to data from the
county Emergency Medical Services Agency, the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to EMSA, public hospitals such as the County-University of Southern
California and Harbor/University of California-Los Angeles medical centers
diverted ambulances an average of about 20 hours per day. Some private
hospitals closed to ambulances for 12 or more hours daily.

ED directors attribute the increased diversions to population growth, a greater
number of seriously ill or injured patients, recent hospital closures and an
increase in the number of patients using EDs for routine care.


Policy Changes
A new diversion policy that will take effect in a couple of weeks will limit ED
closures to one hour at a time and will require hospitals to remain open for at
least 15 minutes before re-closing their EDs, according to EMSA Director Carol
Meyer. Currently, hospitals can divert ambulances for two-hour periods.

EMSA also plans to develop systemwide standards for declaring diversion status
and require medical centers to expedite patient flow, Meyer said (Gencer, Los
Angeles Times, 3/9).


For more information, please visit:
http://www.californiahealthline.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemID=119298 


Cyrus Shahpar & Brian Potts 
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

The CAL/AAEM Archives are available at: http://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/public/calaaem/


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