Consolidating ERs should improve care

6:59 PM Saturday, March 13, 2010

The transition from two hospitals to one hasn’t always been easy.

But while there are still kinks, they are starting to get worked out at Springfield Regional Medical Center.

The emergency room at the High Street campus will soon take all cases as activity at the former Mercy Medical Center winds down.

For all practical purposes, this has already take place. Only walk-in cases have been served at the Fountain campus for some time, with squads directed to take all their patients to the High Street Campus. Few people who go to the Fountain campus are sick enough to be admitted.

The transition from two emergency rooms to one promises to actually provide better care.

By consolidating the emergency rooms, the hospital will make better use of its staff, cut waiting times and offer more timely care to critically ill patients.

The confusion that came with combining the former Community Hospital and Mercy Medical Center has been disconcerting.

With the end in sight for the Fountain Avenue site, the hospital is able to focus more on its mission of helping sick people.

We can expect care to improve and confidence in our local hospital to be restored as we wait for the completion of the new hospital building in 2012.

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