Laura Kate Zaichkin, Herald staff writer

Hospitals across the Tri-Cities are seeing record numbers of emergency department patients this year.

"We've been seeing significant growth for nearly a decade," said Dr. John Matheson, Kadlec Medical Center's emergency department director.

At Kadlec over Christmas weekend, its emergency department reached 50,000 patient visits in 2008. That's double the ER visits eight years ago and about 4,000 more patient than last year, he said.


"This is a big milestone for the hospital -- for the community, really," Matheson said. "This is comparable to large city hospitals."

Kennewick General Hospital and Lourdes Medical Center also are seeing record ER visits this year.

KGH didn't have the numbers available Monday, but it has seen steady yearly increases in its emergency department, said Connie Pitts, the department's director.

And Lourdes saw nearly 25,500 for its 2008 fiscal year, up 40 percent in eight years and about 150 more patients than the same time last year.

The hospitals credit the increase to the growing population, and officials say those numbers could climb higher later this year as the troubled economy causes people to put off their medical care until it's critical.

Kadlec also attributed some of this year's record ER visits to its expanded services, including cardiovascular, neurological and other specialized services not available locally several years ago. Patients used to have to travel to Seattle, Spokane or Portland for those services, Matheson said.

"We're touched by the confidence the community has in us," he said.

Though all the hospitals saw overall growth this year, the nation's economic downturn has caused emergency department numbers to drop in the past couple of months, Pitts said.

"Every hospital in the city and the state in the country is experiencing a big lull," Pitts said. "People are afraid to come to the emergency room ... because of money."

Some people haven't come to the emergency department when needed or are cutting corners -- like refusing to ride in an ambulance and driving themselves to hospitals -- to save money, Pitts said.

"It's pretty scary right now for people -- what they should or shouldn't do," she said.

But hospitals are bracing for increases in ER visits because people are delaying care and because of the possible backlash from state budget cuts.

Lourdes sees spikes in emergency department visits when the state budget changes and people are laid off, said Melanie Johnston, hospital spokeswoman.

These spikes are seen about six months after budget changes because people lose their benefits, put off medical care and end up in emergency departments for basic services or medical emergencies.

"We've always had a large percentage of uninsured in our ER," Johnston said, noting that the number of uninsured visiting its ER hasn't jumped for several years.

And though nationwide the uninsured going to emergency departments is increasing, so far, Matheson said, "We really haven't seen that much of an impact (in the Tri-Cities)."

But all three hospitals say they are gearing up for higher numbers in coming years.

"I think we will be seeing expansion of our emergency department," Matheson said. "That is one of our priorities."