To the Editor,
I am writing to correct a misperception left by your March 19 article, “Falmouth Emergency RoomWait Times Longer than State Average.” The article cites information gathered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in its Hospital Compare database to show how long patients can expect to wait in a hospital ER. This CMS website is a valuable tool for patients to obtain information about hospital services, but those referring to it need to keep in mind that the data which is used is, by necessity, as much as a year or two old. This means the actual experience in the hospital may have changed by the time someone is reading it.
This is the case with the Falmouth Hospital ER wait times. The data used to determine that the hospital wait times were longer than state average were from 2011 and early 2012. Since then, we have put in place rigorous process improvement procedures and guidelines, which have resulted in consistent ER wait times that are much less than the state average. At the Falmouth Hospital ER, 90 percent of patients are seen, treated and discharged or admitted within 40 minutes. These patients are usually in a treatment room within 25 minutes of their arrival.
We now post ER wait times for both Falmouth Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital on the Cape CodHealthcare home page at www.capecodhealth.org. This information is constantly updated and is accessible from your home PC or on your smart phone or tablet.
Providing convenient access to top-quality care is our mission at the Falmouth Hospital ER. Residents and visitors can be assured we are there for them around-the-clock throughout the year.
– Dr. Robert Davis, Medical Director of Emergency Services, Falmouth Hospital