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Dr. Lee A. Moorer of Denver writes:

Re: City’s ER left to hold the fort

There has been much written and talked about in the past few months regarding the exodus of Denver’s city area hospitals, and the impact of the loss of emergency care. Although this makes for a great story, it does not give the entire picture.
As stated in the article, the Institute of Medicine released a study finding that only half of the ER visits were true medical emergencies. There are other venues currently available for non- life threatening urgent care situations. Urgent and walk- in medical care clinics are now operating in the Denver area, with qualified physicians and staff ready to take care of patients with non life - threatening illnesses and injuries. Those patients complaining of sinus pain, minor burns, lacerations, flu and allergy symptoms, sprains, bug bites, bone breaks, fever, headaches, panic attacks, urinary tract infections, and animal bites could all be treated at the local urgent or immediate care clinics. Many of these clinics are staffed with physicians who have trained and worked in the emergency departments of local city hospitals.
These clinics are open seven days a week, most with extended evening and weekend hours. The long waiting time that patients associate with an emergency room visit is not the norm for these urgent care clinics. This is because the serious life threatening situations that consume Emergency Department physicians and staff does not occur in an urgent care. (Examples of life threatening injuries and illnesses would be heart attacks, loss of limb or eyes, gunshot or stab wounds, compound fracture, stroke symptoms, loss of consciousness, severe difficulty in breathing, etc) Please, let your readers know that the loss of a downtown hospital does not mean the loss of urgent medical care in the downtown Denver area. There are many wonderful clinics open and available now that can help take care of the people of Denver and their urgent medical needs.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

The problem here is the people who need to know about this can't speak English, let alone READ English.

A nice informative letter from the doctor.

Unfortunately, the ugly and the ignorant, are forever stumbling out of the crowd with their banner: "Denigration, not Education", and cannot pass up any opportunity to take a shot at Latinos. Presumably, if the Broncos don't make it to the Super Bowl this year, it'll be because someone was heard speaking Spanish at Mile High.

anderson, have you ever heard the expression about a one trick pony?

Yes, it's often applied to Tom Tancredo.

It's good that you two have something to relate about.

true about the clinics but they like to be paid. the ER's are the free clinics the illigals have the right to use as told to them before they left home.

It is high noon, I will come clean about my heritage. Mi mama esta aqui illegally.
Mi papa still drinking tequilla en Guadalajara.

There are 2 clinics that serve the Hispanic community.They are low cost or no cost.
One is called, Clinica Campesina Family Health Service and Tri-County Health Department.
They use the ER's either because they don't know about these clinics or they just don't care how much they cost the tax payers.

The doctor wanted to let the general public know that there are alternatives to the ER, and that people need not panic with the closure of the city hospitals. These clinics serve the general public, and there are many folks out there who do need the service, and can pay for it. Their needs should be addressed as well as any other.

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