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O'FALLON, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
About 72 patients a day are seen in the emergency room at Progress West Healthcare Center. Many are learning the center uses Twitter, the social networking internet site, to announce E.R. wait times. Progress West Healthcare in O'Fallon, MO is the first hospital in the area to venture into the area of posting wait times. Many people discovered the Twitter connection after seeing this highway billboards. The postings are updated every two hours but more often if need be
Paula Szwargulski, Emergency Services Manager, says, " The time that we're posting is pretty much what people want to know, How long is it going to take me to get to a room, where I'm gong to be seen and treatment started."
Other area hospitals have not gotten on board when it comes to posting wait times. Some use Twitter for health education, but they worry that wait times are too fluid to predict. And others worry that patients may not seek proper care due to concerns about long waits.
"My nurses are telling us people are frequently talking, 'oh I looked on Twitter to see how busy you were before I came.' The public's telling us they're using this service
The hospital says people should not go to Twitter for certain situations.
Szwargulski says, "We certainly don't expect anybody to check the Twitter website before they come to the emergency room if they're having chest pains, shortness of breath. They should be calling."
Progress West Healtcare center is part of BJC Healthcare
Paula Szwargulski, Emergency Services Manager, says, " The time that we're posting is pretty much what people want to know, How long is it going to take me to get to a room, where I'm gong to be seen and treatment started."
Other area hospitals have not gotten on board when it comes to posting wait times. Some use Twitter for health education, but they worry that wait times are too fluid to predict. And others worry that patients may not seek proper care due to concerns about long waits.
"My nurses are telling us people are frequently talking, 'oh I looked on Twitter to see how busy you were before I came.' The public's telling us they're using this service
The hospital says people should not go to Twitter for certain situations.
Szwargulski says, "We certainly don't expect anybody to check the Twitter website before they come to the emergency room if they're having chest pains, shortness of breath. They should be calling."
Progress West Healtcare center is part of BJC Healthcare
