Emergency Room

Patients with opioid addiction who show up in a hospital's ER face many barriers to recovery, and so do the doctors trying to help them. Easing those barriers on both sides helps patients get into good follow-up programs that lead to lasting change.

Many ERs Fail People Who Struggle With Addiction. These New Approaches Might Help

7:00am August 21, 2021

by Aneri Pattani

Starting treatment for addiction in the emergency room greatly improves the chances recovery will last, experts say. Cutting red tape, hiring advocates and Uber vouchers can all make a difference.

Jameson Rybak, son of Jim and Suzanne Rybak of Florence, S.C., struggled with opioid addiction and died of an overdose on June 9, 2020 — three months after he left a hospital ER because he feared he couldn't afford treatment.

A Tragic Death Shows How ERs Fail Patients Who Struggle With Addiction

11:00am July 14, 2021

by Aneri Pattani

ER doctors wanted to hospitalize the young man to help ease his withdrawal from opioid dependence. But he declined because he couldn't afford it. His mom says no one told him he had financial options.

A Teton County emergency medical services volunteer outside the Benefis Teton Medical Center in Choteau, Mont.

Rural Ambulance Services At Risk As Volunteers Age And Expenses Mount

6:48am July 05, 2021

by Aaron Bolton

To keep emergency services afloat in rural areas, communities will have to go beyond volunteer-based programs to get people to distant hospitals, experts say. Meanwhile, some 911 calls go unanswered.

The pandemic has left many people unable to get needed medical care, or to delay care for a serious problem, an NPR poll finds. Such delays have often wound up hurting people's health.

About 1 In 5 Households In U.S. Cities Miss Needed Medical Care During Pandemic

3:02pm September 17, 2020

by Patti Neighmond

Some people have skipped care because of finances or fear of the virus, doctors say. Others find medical practices closed to new patients. Many are suffering health consequences, an NPR poll finds.

Emergency room physicians are seeing a drop in admissions for heart attacks and strokes. They worry patients who have delayed care may be sicker when they finally arrive in emergency rooms.

Health & Safety

Eerie Emptiness Of ERs Worries Doctors: Where Are The Heart Attacks And Strokes?

6:36pm May 06, 2020

Is fear of the coronavirus causing ER avoidance? Doctors are seeing an alarming drop in cardiovascular emergency cases. They warn that delayed care can lead to brain damage or even death.

Health & Safety

Treating Stroke Patients In The Midst Of A Pandemic: Time Is Still Critical

10:38am April 10, 2020

by Bethany Chafin

A local health care professional says some stroke patients are waiting too long to seek care amid COVID-19 fears; he's urging patients to get to the emergency room as fast as possible.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center's "ready room" in Washington, D.C., has mostly been used to house emergency supplies — but some storage carts have been moved out to make way for patient assessment stations.

Are U.S. Hospitals Ready?

2:16pm March 17, 2020

Here's what it will take for medical facilities across the nation to handle the coming surge of COVID-19 patients.

Until very recently, the separate company that runs the emergency department at Nashville General Hospital was continuing to haul patients who couldn't pay medical bills into court.

It's Not Just Hospitals That Are Quick To Sue Patients Who Can't Pay

11:59am February 19, 2020

by Blake Farmer

The firm that staffed the emergency room with doctors at Nashville General Hospital was taking more patients to court for unpaid medical bills than any other hospital or practice in the city.

Queue Listen Now

Waits for inpatient beds are an important factor in ER overcrowding.

Health & Safety

Opinion: Emergency Rooms Shouldn't Be Parking Lots For Patients

8:24pm November 30, 2019

by Clayton Dalton

Patients in hospital ERs can wait hours for inpatient beds to open up. The delays can be maddening. A solution for this long-standing problem has been elusive in the U.S., despite progress elsewhere.

A man cools off in a fountain in New York's Washington Square Park this summer. Death from all causes doubled during a heat wave in New York City in August 1975, with heart attacks and strokes accounting for a majority of the excess deaths.

Health & Safety

When Temperatures Rise, So Do Health Problems

7:00am August 24, 2019

by Clayton Dalton

Heatstroke tends to get the most attention during extreme heat waves. But other diseases are affected by high temperatures as well.