HAMBLEN COUNTY, Tenn. — The Covenant Health Morristown-Hamblen West is using a new system when handling non-life-threatening emergencies.
The Emergency Call Ahead program allows patients to call the emergency department and be placed on the call-ahead waiting list. Instead of waiting at the emergency department lobby, patients can now wait from home before they are called to be seen.
Patients will call, answer a few questions from the ED team and they'll be called back when it's time to head to the medical center.
"Our staff will give the patient a call when they are ready to be seen," Lisa Kelley, vice president and chief nursing officer at Morristown-Hamblen, said.
Leaders at Covenant Health said this concept was born during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During that time, ERs were filled with patients and wait times were getting longer.
In response, the Emergency Call Ahead program was created.
"We felt a need to create a better experience for our patients and our staff," Jackie Murray, at Covenant Health Morristown-Hamblen, said.
Covenant Health leaders said the new system aims to place the care of the patients first and treat them as soon as possible.
According to Becker's Hospital Review, the national average wait for an emergency room can be two to three hours.
While patients who have used the call ahead have been discharged within less than two hours.
"I think the longest time we've waited is just under an hour," Sonya Johnson, ED manager at Covenant Health Morristown-Hamblen, said.
This system is not meant for every health crisis. Doctors and nurses said it's only for non-life-threatening conditions. Like the flu, minor injuries, or a sinus infection.
"We do not want you to use our service for chest pain," Kelley said.
The program has been live for more than a month at the Morristown-Hamblen West location. More than a dozen people have used the service and the team expects that to change.
"We do expect this program to take off and we will see more people," Johnson said.
This program is still new and not available in every hospital. Murray said it's available at the Fort Loudon, Methodist and Morristown-Hamblen West locations. The number also changes for every location.
The Emergency Call Ahead number for Morristown-Hamblen West is 423-492-6906.