Dallas Hospital Changes ER Procedures

DALLAS (AP) _ Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas is where a man died last year after waiting 19 hours for emergency room treatment.

The hospital on Tuesday announced it’s made several changes to improve care and reduce long waits.

Dr. Ron Anderson says the changes include eliminating computer kiosks that had been used since summer 2007 for patients to check themselves in.

Patients are now greeted by a paramedic who does a screening to identify urgent needs.

Anderson says that an electronic medical records system implemented in November also improves efficiency.

Also, Parkland in December received an anonymous gift of $1.8 million that will allow it to increase primary care services.

Mike Herrera, a 58-year-old from Dallas, died in September of cardiac arrest after waiting 19 hours for treatment at Parkland.

More News