Kaweah Delta: surge in patients force tent for waiting room | Fresno Bee

Kaweah Delta Medical Center has been pushed to take extreme measures to handle a surge of emergency room patients.

After Tulare Regional’s emergency department and health clinics closed last month, and since the flu came early this year, the Visalia hospital has put up a tent to extend its waiting area.

But, don’t worry. The tent space isn’t like camping. The tent includes electricity, heating and air conditioning, plenty of lighting and supplies. It’s also rain-proof.

Click to resize

The tent will be open during peak demand periods for the hospital’s emergency room patients.

“Our (emergency department) is one of the busiest in the state seeing 90,000 patients each year, but the demand for our medical services has increased to the point that we are taking further steps to best care for each person seeking medical care,” said Gary Herbst, Kaweah Delta’s CEO.

It’s not the first time the hospital has had to use a tent to stretch its waiting room. Last year, a tent was up into the spring, said Dru Quesnoy, the hospital’s director of marketing and public relations.

Kaweah Delta officials are urging the public to seek care at physicians’ offices if health conditions aren’t life-threatening and won’t require hospitalization. Instead, patients are encouraged to first visit urgent care facilities or walk-in clinics.

Examples of life-threatening conditions include heart attack, uncontrollable severe bleeding, sudden or severe pain, coughing blood and vomiting blood, severe breathing difficulties, sudden dizziness, weakness or vision changes, severe vomiting or diarrhea, open bone fractures and changes in mental status.

Urgent care and clinic facilities nearby include:

• Kaweah Delta Urgent Care: 1633 S. Court St., Visalia, 559-624-6090, open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
• Sequoia Prompt Care: 1110 S. Ben Maddox Way, Visalia, 559-624-5800, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day)
• Sequoia Prompt Care: 820 S. Akers St. #100, Visalia, 559-624-5800, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekends (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day)
• Visalia Medical Clinic’s QuickCare: 5400 W. Hillsdale Ave., Visalia, 559-738-7555, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekdays; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays

If you do not have a physician and need one, a same-day appointment may be available by calling:

• Visalia Family Medicine Center: 202 W. Willow Ave. (5th floor), Visalia, 559-624-4820