Many patients fear contracting coronavirus at hospitals. It’s killing them, MedStar says
Patients in the Tarrant County area could be waiting too long before they call 911 for help, and then they are reluctant to be taken to a local hospital for fear of contracting the coronavirus, according to MedStar officials on Wednesday.
Waiting too long has ended tragically for many patients in the Tarrant County area in recent weeks, officials said. More than 50 percent more patients were pronounced dead at the scene by MedStar crews so far this month compared to April 2019 for those found to be in cardiac arrest, according to MedStar statistics..
“Our crews are concerned that some patients may be waiting too long to call, and, even when they do, many patients are reluctant to go to the hospital out of fear of contracting coronavirus,” said MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky in a Wednesday news release. “They also may not want to go to a hospital because of the restricted visitor policies enacted by many hospitals to help flatten the curve of the coronavirus.”
Two other EMS systems - the Richmond Ambulance Authority in Virginia and a hospital-based EMS system in New England - also were experiencing similar trends, in the past few months, Zavadsky said.
Since January, MedStar’s ambulance transports to hospitals are down 30 percent, while response volume is down 19 percent, according to MedStar statistics.
Here are some statistics that MedStar officials note could mean patients may be waiting too long before they call: responses in which a patient was found to be in cardiac arrests were up 12 percent in March compared to March 2019. And so far in April, MedStar crews have responded to 38 percent more cardiac arrests than in April 2019.
“It is important that people call 911 if they feel they are experiencing a medical emergency,” Zavadsky said. “Let your local EMS professionals respond, conduct a thorough medical assessment, and provide recommendations for the most appropriate medical care for you.”
As of Wednesday, 1,430 residents in Tarrant County have tested positive for the virus. Forty-four have died.
MedStar provides emergency and non-emergency service to Fort Worth and 14 other member cities in North Texas. They also provide the service to Blue Mound, Burleson, Edgecliff Village, Forest Hill, Haltom City, Haslet, Lakeside, Lake Worth, River Oaks, Saginaw, Sansom Park, Westover Hills, Westworth Village and White Settlement.
MedStar provides advanced life support ambulance service to 436 square miles and more than 1 million residents and responds to over 150,000 calls a year with a fleet of 65 ambulances.
