SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Chief Executive Officers of three major hospitals in Northwest Louisiana issued a joint PSA on Thursday, urging citizens to assess their medical needs before visiting emergency rooms because they have all become overwhelmed by minor medical cases.
In the 30-second video, Willis-Knighton Health System President & CEO Jaf Fielder says the medical community is here to serve year-round, but an increase in minor medical cases is overwhelming emergency rooms.
“That’s why we’re asking for your help,” adds Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport – Academic Medical Center CEO Chris Mangin.
There are eight emergency rooms in Shreveport-Bossier alone, between Willis-Knighton, CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier, and Oschner LSU Health Shreveport. But they can get backed up when patients with minor medical cases show up there seeking care instead of going to their primary care physicians or any one of the dozens of urgent care clinics throughout the region.
Willis Knighton has seven urgent care clinics in Shreveport and Bossier City. They are open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the last patient registered 15 minutes prior to closing. Oschner LSU Health Shreveport has urgent care clinics in Shreveport and Bossier City, all equipped for onsite diagnostic radiology services, EKG services, and lab testing. CHRISTUS Health has urgent care clinics in Shreveport, Bossier, and Coushatta.
“Together, we can make sure that those who really need emergency care can get the help they need quickly,” said CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier CEO & CMO Dr. Steen Trawick.
The plea comes as respiratory illness continues to rise around the country at high levels amid a worsening flu season.
The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained mostly steady in recent weeks at about 300,000 per day, but experts have warned of a “tripledemic” facing the country and world as COVID-19 lingers, influenza cases rise and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases surge.
Trawick says anyone with symptoms that are severe or life-threatening should go to an ER immediately, but he asks those seeking immediate attention for common illnesses to visit an urgent care center or call their doctor for guidance instead of visiting an emergency room.
