According to this chart, the Parkland Health and Hospital system gets 25.8 ER visits per hour, the most in the nation.
Posted by MaxGoodwinning@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 25 comments
Micronbros@reddit
That’s because UTSW evaluates whether the person coming to the ER can pay for the medical costs at the ER. If they cannot, they divert the person to parkland.
No I am serious. All of the hospitals from Baylor, Medical City, try to divert ER calls from people with no potential insurance or income to a different hospital system, the public ones.
So yea it makes sense parkland gets a ton of ER cases.
EDsandwhich@reddit
You do realize that is an EMTALA violation?
Micronbros@reddit
I believe the base rule is that the er needs to stabilize the person. Which happens. UTSW has an agreement with Parkland about transfers of patients from the UTSW ER to Parkland.
It’s not like UTSW is mass dumping people out of UTSW ER with no recourse. They are dumping people out of the UTSW ER and sending them to Parkland if the person is not profitable for UTSW. Parkland apparently agreed to this arrangement.
UTSW and Parkland are very intertwined with how they deal with patients.
EDsandwhich@reddit
Yes the ER needs to stabilize the patient. If they are transferring the person to Parkland after stabilizing them it should be fine per my interpretation of the law.
If UTSW was telling an ambulance crew to turn around at the entrance and take the person to Parkland because they are poor that would be illegal.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
I mean, this is the truth. When I was uninsured, I went to Medical City. Once I was stabilized, they sent me to Parkland or JPS. The private hospitals know you aren't going to be able to pay the bill, so they try to get you out of there as fast as possible.
It happens at any ER stay, you're going to get a visit from the billing team. It's just less memorable now that I have full coverage insurance.
Snap_Grackle_Poptart@reddit
Red counties aren't sending their best.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
It's funded by property taxes. It belongs to the people.
Snap_Grackle_Poptart@reddit
It's funded by Dallas county taxpayers, and (ab)used by surrounding areas.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Collin County pays taxes to them also.
BlackStarCorona@reddit
Isn’t parkland a county hospital that accepts people without insurance?
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Yes. They had a program called Parkland Plus (it's called something else now). Once you're in that system, they set you up with discounted primary care and very limited specialty care. Better than nothing though.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Parkland is the place to go for burns, car accidents, and gun shot wounds. I feel sorry for everyone else who has to deal with a county health system. I went through the JPS mill when I was uninsured 🫤
MaxGoodwinning@reddit (OP)
I was actually really surprised it wasn't a NYC hospital that topped the chart!
RemovedReddit@reddit
Not many other choice in Dallas to distribute cases
Coinbells@reddit
Homeless*
omar_strollin@reddit
*Uninsured unhoused or not
BlazinAzn38@reddit
Not many true county hospitals left in the US
PrimmyPie@reddit
Not nearly as much fast driving happening in NYC, which means less motor vehicle accidents
solidoxygen@reddit
Had many pregnant patients that went to the ER in order to try and find out the gender of their baby. Their symptoms were always "unspecified abdominal pain"
Key_Suit2853@reddit
Most likely, my mother-in-law is contributing half of those statistics. The lady goes to the ER over a sniffle.
FBSenators12@reddit
Having one of the highest numbers of uninsured (Texas) has turned Parkland's ER into a Primary Care Facility.
csonnich@reddit
Yeah. Same situation in Miami, per the map.
Fit_Tale_4962@reddit
Lots of uninsured people
NegotiationSalt666@reddit
Having worked (more like overworked) at parkland, this is not surprising at all.
BootyBurrito420@reddit
Imagine how much more it would be if Children's wasn't there. Parkland basically doesn't do kids