Oregon Public Broadcasting

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Americans are going to hospital emergency rooms in record numbers.  Pete Springer reports.

The CDC report says on average, there are 227 emergency room visits per minute in the U.S.

That’s a more than a 30 percent increase nationally since the last decade. And the numbers hold true in Oregon.

Robert Vissers is head of the emergency department at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

He says the number of people visiting his emergency room has increased by about five-percent a year.

Robert Vissers: “The whole system is somewhat overwhelmed, there’s a lack of certain specialties and it’s incredibly expensive.  So even patients who have very good insurance or have the means don’t always have the immediate access.”

He estimates about 40 percent of the emergency room patients he treats don’t have health insurance.

Vissers says the increasing burden on emergency rooms is unsustainable as baby boomers age.