Nearly two weeks after Baton Rouge General Medical Center shut down its Mid City emergency room at its Florida Boulevard campus, the area’s other major hospitals have seen an increase in patient volume. But so far at least, the high-profile closure of the ER—which many uninsured patients in Mid City and North Baton Rouge have relied on for years—has not created the kind of catastrophic situation some had feared.
At Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center on Essen Lane—which was treating about 260 patients per day at its 86-bed ER before the March 31 closure—patient volume is up about 10%, which hospital officials say was expected. The hospital’s urgent care clinics on North Foster Drive and on north Airline Highway, meanwhile, have seen their patient volumes double. In response, OLOL announced last week it has extended the hours at its pediatric clinic on Goodwood Boulevard. Prior to the Mid City closure it had increased its hours of service at the Foster Drive and Airline Highway clinics.
“We anticipated about a 10% increase in patent volume and that has been consistent with what we are seeing,” says Kelly Zimmerman, a hospital spokesperson. “We have worked hard to solidify our processes and our teams tell us everything is running smoothly.”
At Ochsner Medical Center, which serves about 180 patients per day at its ERs on O’Neal Lane and in Iberville Parish, volume is up though only slightly.
“We haven’t noticed much of an increase,” says spokesperson Stephanie Friedrich.
State officials say from their perspective the transition has also been relatively smooth, though they are still evaluating the situation to determine where additional resources may be needed.
“We’re meeting with stakeholders to receive feedback,” says Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals spokesperson Olivia Watkins. “While we’ve not been informed of a dramatic surge in patients at other hospitals since the closure, we’ll talk with hospital leadership, ER doctors, emergency medical technicians and the Capital Area Transit System to continue work on long-term improvements to health care access points for urgent and ER care in our community.”
Baton Rouge General announced the closure earlier this year in response to mounting financial losses of some $2 million a month.
—Stephanie Riegel
