Emergency departments (ED) provide access to care for large numbers of patients who
have nonemergent medical needs. More than half of the patients presenting to the ED at
Salem Hospital in Salem, Oregon, were found to be seeking care for nonemergent medical
needs. In an effort to provide an alternative location for receiving this medical care, the
hospital opened an Urgent Care Center (UCC) a few blocks from the ED. The purpose of
this study was to determine who uses the ED, why, and what effect the UCC had on
providing an alternative to the ED. My anthropological methodology uses both quantitative
and qualitative techniques. Included in the study is a random retrospective chart review of
462 patients who utilized the ED and 183 patients who utilized the UCC. The collected data
were analyzed and compared with information found in the literature review. Interviews
with hospital staff and patients using the two facilities are integrated into the analysis. My
own experience as a nurse allows me a certain insider's perspective which was useful in
interpreting data, while doing observation, and during the interview process.
Findings from my research show that the Urgent Care Clinic does provide an alternative
source of health care to the ED for many people. This is particularly true for those whose
usual source of care is unavailable and for those who are unable to find a primary care
provider to accept them. The emergency department provides nonemergent care for large
numbers of patients, some of whom have psycho-social problems which differ as compared
to the general population. Some of these patients have moderate psychiatric dysfunction
and/or addiction problems or homelessness as well as underlying medical problems, all of
which are barriers to obtaining care in a regular office setting. In some cases, the emergency
department provides the best option of available care. / Graduation date: 1999
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28467 |
| Date | 20 November 1998 |
| Creators | Stiles, Catherine M. |
| Contributors | Rosenberger, Nancy |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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