LONGVIEW, Texas — At CHRISTUS Good Shepherd in Longview, they've added an outside area to help with the overflow of people visiting the hospital.
They're calling it a triage center in front of the main emergency room and they're using it to figure out what kind of care patients need.
"Our plans called for when our volumes and staffing warranted it, that we would create a triage center in front of our main ER, and respiratory evacuation center," President and CEO of CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Todd Hancock said. "This is really to streamline the ER process."
Longview is a part of Trauma Service Area G, and currently, the area only has 13 ICU beds left. More than 26.3% of hospitalizations are COVID-19 related.
When cars drive to the emergency room, they'll now approach a drive-thru tent without having to leave their car. Hospital staff will then figure out where they need to be sent.
That could mean going straight to the emergency room, their respiratory evaluation center, or to their urgent care center.
"We have people that are showing up by vehicle and by foot traffic, that that may not be true emergencies," Hancock added. "So they're being evaluated outside by a care delivery team, which includes a physician to determine what is the true nature of their visit."
People in need of serious attention will be sent to the correct area after being evaluated and won't be in the outside area. One of the goals is to make everything more efficient.
"This is the first time we've had to do this," Hancock said. "We've been at this for 20 months, so we were pretty prepared for all eventualities."