HENRIETTA, N.Y. — Emergency rooms in Rochester are experiencing significant overcrowding, being at 100% capacity and many patients bypassing primary care doctors and urgent care centers.

News10NBC’s Jennifer Lewke reports on the impact this has on the healthcare system.

Dr. Michael Apostolakos, Chief Medical Officer at Strong and Highland Hospitals, describes the situation.

“People are getting care in the hallways,” said Apostolakos. “We’re bringing the equipment and the staff to take care of them but it’s not a comfortable environment for them right now.”

Doctors and nurses inside of Strong and Highland said they have been doing the best they can to keep up.

Lauren Phillips, a nurse practitioner at Rochester Regional Health (RRH) Urgent Care Centers, emphasizes the capabilities of urgent care.

“I think people underestimate what urgent care is capable of seeing and we’re also trying to get the volumes down in the ED,” said Phillips.

Rochester Regional and UR Medicine locations aim to treat patients within an hour. Phillips explains.

“We are able to capture a lot just through vitals, your heart rate, your respiratory rate, blood pressure that’s like your overall clinical picture,” said Phillips.

If urgent care determines a patient needs further attention, Phillips said that they will send them to the emergency department.

It is advised that people who don’t truly need the emergency room will choose an urgent care instead, as majority of patients can be treated safely at urgent care centers or by primary care physicians.

To check the wait times for UR Medicine Urgent Care, click here. For wait times at RRH Urgent Care, click here.

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