HENDERSON (KTNV) — In response to a surge in patient numbers at the emergency department in St. Rose Siena Hospital in Henderson, dozens of patients in gurneys are being placed and cared for in hallways.
A Dignity Health spokesperson says the hospital is at more than 110% capacity.
We spoke to a patient who says they were shocked when they ended up less than a foot away from others being treated at the hospital.
"People don't know there is a problem until you show up in the hospital," said Las Vegas resident Bradley Wilmot.
Wilmot says it was a sharp abdominal pain that forced his trip to the emergency room at Henderson's St. Rose Siena Hospital on Dec. 9.
As he entered, he tells us he was shocked by what he saw.
"We passed anywhere from 50 to 100 patients on gurneys in the hallway," Wilmot said — something he described as worrisome.
Wilmot said the situation made him wonder when he'd get to see a health professional and made his stay less than comfortable.
"I was in the hallway — you can't sleep in the hallway with the lights on, people going by, bumping into the gurneys," he said.
While we couldn't record inside the emergency department because of patient confidentiality, a Dignity Health representative offered an escort through the area so we could see it firsthand.
"Seeing patients in alternate care areas such as hallways, beds or recliner beds does happen quite frequently across the nation," said Dignity Health medical director, Dr. Irena Vitkovitsky.
Vitkovitsky says treating patients in their emergency department's hallways is how they increase efficiency.
"At all times, we do our best to get medical care in front of patients right away, and it may be inconvenient for the patient, but it is most important for medical care and to establish that medical care," she said.
Joe Scott, the hospital's chief operating officer, tells us there are plans to build 35 more hospital rooms to help provide some relief to the emergency department.
"It is going to help us out tremendously; it is going to be a value added which will help our hospital to continue to provide the level of care that we want for our patients," Scott said.
St. Rose Siena is one of the last non-profit hospitals in the Las Vegas Valley, Scott added. He says capacity issues have led to treating patients in hallways for several years now.
But with funding now in place, the planned hospital expansion is expected to be finished next summer.
