Sol6

I think that this ER exists to fulfill the requirements of CMS. I'm not certain if this is correct, but I believe that to participate in medicare and medicaid billing a facility has to comply with EMTALA. So they keep the ER for billing/legal reasons.

Thank God there hasn't been a code here yet that I know of, but they certainly wouldnt work well. I'd have to run it with the MD and have the guard call 911 for emergency transport to our sister facility. Legally permitted meal breaks (or any break for that matter); that may be a good talking point for me to take this to upper administration. It definitely has the potential for safe harbor territory, just been blessed that every patient has been stable so far. It's a shame to be put in position where I may have to move on down the road due to safety concerns. This is an otherwise great gig. Where else do you get the luxury to spend 30 minutes getting a history for and ER patient then still have enough time to make sure all their needs are attended to without feeling stressed?

Hi All, I've got a question for you that I'm having a hard time finding anywhere else. I work in a small surgical hospital ER in Texas. We typically only see 1-2 patients per day and sometimes none at all. Recently management has taken to assigning the ER nurse to cover inpatient (2-3 patients) if the regular Inpt nurse calls in sick. This leaves a security guard, MD, and myself as the only staff in the facility. The ER desk is around the corner from the Inpt hall, but there is still a physical stretch from attending the front desk and caring for the admitted patients. My concern is being caught with total assist post-surgical patients and having to coordinate a transfer of a potentially unstable ER patient at the same time. So far nothing of consequence has happened due to this staffing scheme but I'm weary of this trend. I spoke to our manager about my concerns and the response was "just deal with it as it comes". I was also unable to find a policiy regarding this issue in our HR drive. I haven't yet felt the need to escalate this further but I'd like to be prepared with more info so I'm not caught off guard if the worse happens. Thanks for any advice or experience you are able to offer.