CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As COVID-19 metrics increase in the Carolinas and across the country, hospitals are nearing capacity and healthcare workers are strained.
There's been an intense surge in the number of patients going in with COVID-19 symptoms or severe cases that require an ICU bed. But doctors say because so many more people are back out and about, they're also seeing the usual traumas and emergencies.
Together, it’s impacting the amount of time a person has to wait to be seen.
Both Atrium and Novant Health have acknowledged they are filling up again but both can still surge to allow more COVID-19 patients in.
Most nights, life in the emergency department is hectic. But in the last several weeks, it's intensified.
"The entire time that I was there, the waiting room was full. They kept saying they didn't have any beds available for anyone,” a Charlotte-area woman told WCNC Charlotte.
She wanted to remain anonymous but says her recent experience at Atrium’s Concord emergency department was less than ideal.
“I definitely felt like my issue was not an emergency to them," she said.
A surge in COVID-19 cases is leading to more foot traffic in local hospitals and longer wait times.
“I got there around 6:30 on a Friday and I wasn't taken to the back until 7:45 the next morning,” she said.
Both Atrium and Novant Health say they've gotten busier and NCDHHS reports a sharp increase in the number of people with COVID-19 like symptoms walking into emergency departments.
Health experts all agree there is a simple solution to get cases down and relieve the stress on the system.
“This is exactly the situation we've been working to avoid. It is imperative that everyone get vaccinated and wear a mask, so hospital beds are there for anyone who needs one, whether it’s someone experiencing a heart attack or a car accident victim or someone with COVID-19,” Dr. Mandy Cohen with NCDHHS said.
Some reminders from the hospital systems, only go to the emergency room if you are experiencing a true emergency.
They've been getting a lot of people who need COVID-19 tests but there are plenty of other testing locations available to do it faster and for less money.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.