Emergency room visits at this Loma Linda hospital are longer than at most ERs in the U.S.

Beaumont, Calif., resident Nicole Vela, 45, was kept waiting so long at Loma Linda University Medical Center that her husband, Jorge, drove her to another hospital. In recent years, patients have typically spent roughly seven hours at the Loma Linda emergency department before leaving, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show. That has piled more pressure on emergency rooms, Loma Linda hospital officials said, with the numbers of adults coming to the emergency department roughly doubling in the past decade. Loma Linda officials said the hospital has tried to ease waits by splitting its adult and pediatric emergency departments, expanding options for urgent care and opening more areas where patients can be seen. Loma Linda officials have announced they are working to build special units for psychiatric patients who show up for emergency care, to provide them a calming environment and prevent “bottlenecking” in the emergency department.