Wooster Community Hospital reports high ER visits

WOOSTER -- Wooster Community Hospital's emergency department recorded its second busiest month in hospital history in July, Chief Executive Officer Bill Sheron said.

A month ago, the emergency department recorded 3,019 visits, a spike from 2,977 and 2,944 in May and June, respectively.

The previous high was 3,092 recorded in December.

A reason for the gradual increase is the expansion of Medicaid and inclusion of the Affordable Care Act, which extends medical coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

"These were people who previously had no insurance coverage at all," Sheron said following Wednesday's Board of Governors meeting, "and now have Medicaid coverage. Now that they are covered, they are using it to come to the emergency room. With Medicaid coverage, there is no co-payment. So it's free and people use it because it's available.

"If there were a co-payment, I think we would see less utilization," he added. "The emergency room is being used as primary care visits."

The top reason why people flocked to WCH in July was abdominal pain followed by chest pain and fever, according to hospital records.

"The less-sick patients are using the ER because they can't get access to a doctor," said Shelly Huff, chief nursing officer at WCH. "Not all doctors take Medicaid, so people are forced to come to the emergency room. But more people are using the ER as a primary care doctor."

Since the passage of ACA in 2010, about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage.

If co-pays are implemented, Huff said, the spike in emergency department visits may level off. Although, she added, it's too early to tell.

"I'm anticipating (visits) will remain high for the next year," Huff said. "We're all still waiting to see how things will play out with the Affordable Care Act."

The hospital has recorded 20,285 ER visits this year, up from 18,876 a year ago.

Reporter Jonathan Scholles can be reached at 330-287-1632 or [email protected]. He is @jonschollesTDR on Twitter.