Lack of hospital beds wreak havoc

My mom fell in her home and shattered her shoulder Dec. 26. After a 9-hour wait in one of Olympia's hospital she was given a script for pain medications, a sling and sent home with a follow-up with a surgeon.

It was shattered, ball broke off the humorous, ball shattered and out of the joint. She returned to the ER again with extreme weakness and out-of-control pain. This was a 10-hour waiting room stay before being seen. It was packed both days.

She was admitted, but needed to stay overnight in her ER room as there were no beds up stairs. Meaning, people in the waiting room waited longer because they could not move her out to make room for someone waiting to be seen.

Because she was not admitted the day of her injury, she suffered eight days before she had her surgery. Unacceptable.

The doctor who followed her in the hospital stated upon discharge that the hospital beds were hard to come by. My sister said "Maybe we need another hospital around here". The doctor answered by saying maybe she could pay for it.

I moved to Oregon in 1980, it has grown by thousands since then. A population such as Olympia, is two hospitals really enough? Are the ER waits always this long? My sister can't afford to build a hospital. Anyone else have concerns about the lack of hospital beds? It was difficult to watch her suffer as she did.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Lack of hospital beds wreak havoc."