GROWTH: Healthcare can’t keep up

We had an unplanned visit to the emergency room the other day at KMC. It was standing room only. I have never seen it so full and busy. This is not an indictment on KMC. They were hustling and doing the best they could. They literally asked people to leave the building if they were not a patient. It was unbelievable. A woman that had been in a car wreck that was bleeding and moaning and crying next to me for 2 hours was parked in the waiting room. 

My heart attack was small compared to the other things going on there. The line was long. I am not mad at KMC. They took care of me and did a good job. I am mad at the elected officials of the county and cities of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Rathdrum that keep giving building permits to housing developments without thinking about the infrastructure such as emergency rooms. 

If anyone thinks they are going down to the emergency room to get seen medically, you are bonkers. They are totally booked. The line is out the front door. I asked my attending nurse if this was the type of traffic they were used to as normal, he said, “it’s like this every day?”

The next time elected officials hand out building permits, tell them to walk down to the emergency room and take a good look.

RICK ANDERSON

Rathdrum