Ever since Hawaii Medical Center's two hospitals shut their doors, Oahu emergency rooms have consistently been stretched to the limit. Many go on re-route status daily, essentially asking city ambulances to divert patients to other hospitals because they have no room.
The fact that we have two emergency rooms closed it's even more important that they call 911," says Dr. William Dang, Honolulu cardiologist.
Despite patient overload the American Heart Association and the city's emergency medical services are urging the public now more than ever to call 911 especially if you suspect you're having a heart attack.
Chest pain could be a heart attack and it really is. Anybody that's over 35 it's a heart attack until its proven otherwise. how is it proven otherwise? at the hospital," says Patty Dukes, Emergency Services Chief.
According to the American Heart association, an estimated 50 percent of all patients suffering a severe heart attack currently drive themselves to emergency rooms. Health experts fear that number could grow as word travels that hospitals and ambulance crews are stretched to capacity.
We want people to call 911, we don't want you to get in your car and drive it's the worst thing you could do," says Dukes.
City ambulances are equipped with the tools to diagnose whether someone is suffering a heart attack. That pre-treatment could be the difference between life and death.
With that information we can go right to the hospital emergency room and sometimes in the most significant types of heart attack right to the cardiac catheterization lab," says Dr. Jim Ireland, EMS director.
"They transmit to the hospital, hospital knows what's coming and they get them to the cath lab as quick as possible. We shave off valuable time," says Dr. Dang.
Dr. William Dang says not calling 911 could result in a patient being taken to a hospital that is not prepared.
If necessary they'll take them to a hospital that has the capabilities to open the arteries,two emergency rooms closed up -- one of the hospitals was one of the hospitals that did the emergency angioplasties," says Dr. Dang.
Some consider 911 dispatchers to be the true first-responders who provide pre-arrival instruction until paramedics arrive.
