Faster ER in DC?

[Anonymous]

My husband needs to go to the ER. We're closest to WHC, but I think that would be very slow. I once spent 7 hours at GW. Other thoughts?

[Anonymous]

You'll spend a lot of time no matter where you go unless there's chest pain involved.
And if you're a woman besides the chest pain you have to complain of heartburn too.

[Anonymous]

Sibley is likely the fastest. However, don't go there for heart issues, they'll just refer you.

I've had a great time there for stitches, concussion, etc.

[Anonymous]

It totally depends on what else is going on. I worked in an ER for years, though, and I can tell you there is usually a "rush" late in the evening-- around 10pm-midnight. A lot of people think they can deal with their problem, but when they can't get to sleep because of the pain, etc., they head to the ER. Strange but true.

[Anonymous]

Try Sibley, though not sure if they can handle more complicated emergencies. Good luck

[Anonymous]

I once sat at WHC for 6hrs then went to Holy Cross and was seen in 15 minutes.

I was early in pregnancy and having some bleeding, however, so perhaps it was something they placed a higher priority on.

[Anonymous]

I was told NOT to go to the ER the day after a holiday/long weekend. This was from the ER folks the day after a holiday (I was there as I had 104 temp and my dr could not get me in before the end of the day). I waited for 6 hours to be seen. Not only is the hospital short staffed but people who had been putting off getting to the dr all weekend finally make it in.

[Anonymous]

Went to Sibley ER last Monday morning and was seen straight away - they were excellent.

Took a friend to GW once on a Friday night and they weren't seen for about 10 hours. Won't do that again!

[Anonymous]

Yeah for non-emergency emergency room issues, Sibley is great! Got my rabies shot there. Very pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah for non-emergency emergency room issues, Sibley is great! Got my rabies shot there. Very pleasant.

What kind of animal bite?

[Anonymous]

Sibley is definately the fastest. Not sure if there are restrictions on what they can or cannot handle.

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:I've been told (once, after slicing my finger) that the ER cannot 'legally' tell you to go someplace else. They are required to take care of you by law (or perhaps practice or something else). Anecdotal so I don't know if it is true or not.

However, what I find helpful was asking more vague questions like 'if this issue could be handled by an urgent care center or XX hospital without much of a wait would you recommend I consider that' and I got an answer like "I would strongly recommend you consider that option, but I can't tell you to go there". I think you can also ask what the wait time is at their ER.

This is true. It is called EMTALA (http://www.emtala.com/)

[Anonymous]

Georgetown has always been quick wait for us...often times walked right in and to the back.

[Anonymous]

OP here. My husband went to WHC, waited for 2.5 hours, watched the cockroaches crawl around the waiting room floor, watched people literally writhing in agony get ignored by staff, then he left without ever being seen. He went to Sibley, was seen and treated right away, and was home in less than 2 hours. Which for an ER visit, I think is a near-record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah for non-emergency emergency room issues, Sibley is great! Got my rabies shot there. Very pleasant.

What kind of animal bite?

Actually we woke up to see a bat flying around our bedroom. A bat bite can be so light that it could bite you without waking you up. Apparently there was a 4 year old girl who was asleep while a bat was in her room. The bat was killed. A month later she died of rabies. They discovered that it was the bat (they must have been able to retrieve the body). So the CDC recommends that people consider getting rabies shots if they wake up to a bat. (Similar recommendation for young children found alone in a room with a bat and for drunks exposed to bats.) I read a little about previous rabies cases. There was one where a guy picked up a bat, felt a pinprick but didn't see a bite or any blood. He died of rabies later. It felt weird to go to the doctor for this but all the medical personnel we talked to knew about this and didn't laugh at us.