Oahu's emergency rooms have been overwhelmed at times ever since Hawaii Medical Center closed two of its hospitals last month. The issue reached a near crisis Tuesday when the vog rolled in. According to Emergency Medical Services officials, at one point in the day, only two emergency rooms on the entire island were accepting ambulance patients.
Hazy mornings are something we all cope with when the tradewinds back off.
"I noticed a little bit that my breathing was little harder because I do have asthma," said Leigh Magadanz of Florida.
But on Tuesday, the thick vog put an extra spotlight on an already sensitive issue. Oahu's emergency rooms are at times maxed out.
"The emergency rooms have been heavily taxed for a number of years now but I think with the closure of the HMC facilities they've seen a tremendous increase," said EMS District Chief, Kelly Yamamoto.
According to EMS, dispatchers received 254 calls on Tuesday; that's 32 more than they normally do on a daily basis.
"The vog contributed to quite a number of calls yesterday," said EMS Director, Dr. Jim Ireland. "A lot of calls for respiratory complaints, headache, watery eyes."
The extra patients and calls overwhelmed emergency rooms across Oahu.
"At some point yesterday really all the hospitals on Oahu were on re-route with the exception of Tripler and Kapiolani Women's and Children," said Ireland. "What they're saying is, is that we're so busy right now it's not safe for you to bring us patients who aren't very critically ill."
Hospitals often use re-routes or diverts as a protective mechanism aimed at maintaining quality patient care. It's not uncommon for hospitals to reach this status but it is uncommon for so many to be at that level at the same time.
"There were a number of emergency rooms that went under divert because of the increase volume and we were very busy all day long," said Yamamoto.
The closure of HMC's two hospitals has forced other emergency rooms to absorb the over-flow. The VOG is compounding an already overwhelming issue.
"It's a really tough time for all the emergency rooms I think everybody is kind of having to raise their bar a little bit and make room for more patients," said Yamamoto.
"We've clearly seen over the last few weeks, the amount of time the hospitals are spending on re-route has increased," said Ireland.
Health officials remind those with respiratory disorders to try to stay indoors when the vog is thick and drink lots of water and avoid strenuous activity.
