An early and unusually high surge of respiratory illnesses is packing waiting rooms with sick patients at local emergency rooms and urgent cares, resulting in long wait times and a strain on health care facilities.
As a result, UnityPoint Health has implemented a new scheduling process for its urgent cares and express care locations in central Iowa, requiring all patients to reserve a time online rather than walk in for care.
Dr. Patricia Newland, a family medicine provider and the CEO of UnityPoint Clinic, said the goal is to reduce waiting times by controlling the flow of patients in the clinics and help them receive "safe and efficient care." Health system officials are also encouraging patients to access other nonurgent medical care to help alleviate the backlog.
"We don't want to have people sitting in a crowded room full of ill people," Newland said.
As of Monday, to visit an urgent care or express care site, patients must reserve an appointment slot online, either through unitypoint.org or through their MyUnityPoint account.
Patients may not be able to schedule an appointment the same day, Newland said. New appointment slots for the next day open at 9 p.m. the night before.
“Our goal is to deliver high-quality care to as many patients as safely as possible,” Dr. Josh Rehmann, vice president and medical director for UnityPoint Clinic in central Iowa, said in a statement. “We believe that having patients reserve a time online, we can better serve our community as efficiently as possible.”
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In recent weeks, UnityPoint Health clinics across the central part of the state have seen as much as a 40% increase in patient volume compared to what providers would typically see, Newland said. This has mostly been driven by unusually high infection rates of respiratory viruses, including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, among others.
"It just overwhelms our system," she said.
Des Moines metro area hospitals are also feeling the strain in recent weeks and have reported the surge has resulted in emergency rooms experiencing more than double their typical patient visits in recent weeks. This has posed a particularly alarming challenge for children's hospitals and pediatric units in Iowa, prompting them to deploy countermeasures used during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
All of this has been compounded by ongoing staff shortages throughout the health care industry in Iowa. Clinic providers and their families have not been immune during this time, and Newland said ongoing staff absences as a result of illness were a major contributing factor to officials' decision to implement a scheduling protocol.
"We're just wanting to safeguard their well-being and balance that with the well-being and the care of our patients," she said.
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Health care providers continue to urge patients to go to the emergency room or call 911 if they are experiencing serious or life-threatening health issues.
If they can, patients with nonurgent medical concerns are also encouraged to call their primary care providers first to see if they have availability for same-day or next-day appointments.
Newland said patients should also consider utilizing Virtual Urgent Care, a telehealth service through MyUnityPoint that's available for patients from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday.
Patients are also encouraged to consider using the Smart Exam online screening tool, which is available for patients age 18 and older who can't receive in-person care. The tool is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and costs $30 per screening.
Newland and other providers continue to emphasize the importance of following prevention strategies to help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, such as wearing a mask, washing hands frequently and getting flu and COVID-19 shots. Individuals should also stay home if they feel sick, and keep their kids home if they are experiencing any symptoms.
"Do everything you can to try to stay healthy," Newland said. "And please have some patience with those of us who are trying to help take care of them. It's unusually busy. There's a lot of sick people and we're just doing the very best we can."
Current wait times for UnityPoint Health urgent care and express care clinics in the area can be found on the health system's website here.
Editor's note: A previously published version of this story incorrectly listed the hours of operation for UnityPoint Health Virtual Urgent Care. Telehealth services are available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached atmramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 oron Twitter at@Michaela_Ramm.
