AROUND-THE-CLOCK MEDICINE: Where to get care

Area hospitals, clinics work to meet urgent-care needs in 24-hour town

steve andrascik/VIEWDr. Gary Goldberg views images on a digital radiographic monitor in the emergency room at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. Steve andrascik/ViewDr. Marc O?Connor, emergency room physician, uses an otoscope to examine the inner ear of Christian Baez, 14, at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, 3186 S. Maryland Parkway, Feb. 1. Advertisement

Las Vegans finding themselves in the need of a doctor's services in the wee hours of the morning will find that their choices are few and far between. There are currently only three choices for 24-hour medical care: two clinics and your local emergency room. Either can lead to long waits when one is not feeling one's best already, as life-threatening injuries take precedence over a sore throat.

"If the public were better educated, the ERs wouldn't be so crowded," said Dr. Sam Kaufman, chief executive officer and managing director of Desert Springs Hospital, 2075 E. Flamingo Road. "The ERs are particularly crowded January, February and even into March, when there are more upper-respiratory complaints. The ER shouldn't be used as an urgent care or primary care physician."

Desert Springs is one of two hospitals in the southeast, and has the distinction of being the closest hospital to the resort corridor, as well as McCarran International Airport.

"It's tough being in the center of town," Kaufman said. He noted that around 40 ambulances a day arrive at the hospital and almost any emergency that takes place on the Strip or in the air en route to McCarran ends up at Desert Springs. Aside from the tourists, there also are the construction injuries to consider.

"The hospital deals with a lot of workman's compensation cases," he said.

In order to reduce waiting times, the hospital recently created a streamlined triage system that makes use of the Comprehensive Assessment, Review and Disposition (CARD) room, where treatment and diagnostic testing begins. Very ill or injured people are taken directly to one of the main treatment areas. Those who are less ill are taken to the CARD room. Where previously a patient without life-threatening injuries or illness might have spent hours and hours waiting for a break in the more acute cases, now patients should get attention right away.

"Our goal is to begin treatment and diagnostic testing immediately when a patient arrives into our hospital," Jennifer Poyer, registered nurse and Emergency Department manager, said. "Using the CARD room to begin medical evaluations improves patient care, allows staff members to assign ambulance patients upon their arrival and makes long waits a thing of the past."

The CARD room is part waiting room and part examination room. Patients are provided with reading material and television access, while emergency physicians examine them and they wait for test results.

In addition to the Emergency Department, the hospital has created a STAT laboratory. This is a dedicated lab that provides rapid analysis of tests and allows a faster diagnosis of patients. While Desert Springs is proud of its nationally accredited chest pain center and its work with diabetes, it doesn't provide facilities for birth. "These were closed down three years ago when the hospital reassessed the needs of the community," Kaufman said. "We decided to focus on our specialties."

The decision was made simpler by the relative proximity of the southeast's other hospital, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center at 3186 S. Maryland Parkway, which includes Sunrise Children's Hospital. In addition to its regular emergency room, it also has the only dedicated children's hospital in Nevada, including the only 24-hour, pediatric-only emergency department.

The hospital is sensitive to the unique needs of children and provides a handy list of when and when not to go to the emergency room with your child.

"A visit to any ER can take a very long time, even in the middle of the night," Dr. Diane Lipscomb, chairwoman of the Department of Pediatrics at the hospital, said. "Be sure to bring some food and perhaps a favorite toy or blanket to help keep the child comfortable while waiting.

Lipscomb also recommends that parents try to contact the family pediatrician before going to the emergency room to avoid unnecessary trips there.