Community Corner
Washington Adventist Hospital Celebrates One Year of No Diversion of Ambulance Patients
Hospital surpasses national benchmarks for emergency department measures.
recently achieved an entire year of having zero “yellow diversions,” hospital-speak for a situation where an emergency department is too busy to take on any additional cases and ambulances are diverted to the next closest hospital.
Since 2009, the hospital has made marked efforts to better prioritize incoming patients, with life-threatening patients receiving immediate care and a separate “fast-track” area caring for patients with minor injuries or illnesses concurrently.
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Last year, Washington Adventist Hospital’s emergency department served almost 45,000 patients and has seen an increase of 6.2 percent through October.
The hospital’s achievement has not gone unnoticed by the medical industry. "By not simply settling for minimizing diversion but rather eliminating it, Washington Adventist Hospital has established the standard for all emergency centers in Maryland to achieve,” said Dr. Robert Bass, Executive Director of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMMS), which oversees and coordinates all parts of the statewide emergency medical services (EMS). "Congratulations on this exceptional achievement."
