By Jim Shilander
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Kirk Wells gave the San Clemente City Council a look at information on calls for medical service, in light of a proposal to change the current Saddleback Memorial Medical Center-San Clemente campus by potentially eliminating the emergency room and ultimately reconstructing the facility as an advanced urgent care facility and outpatient care center.
Wells told the council on Tuesday that there had been an increase in the number of calls for emergency medical services in 2014, resulting in approximately 1,700 trips to area hospitals, of which 72 percent were taken to San Clemente—Dana Point’s nearest hospital and emergency room—with another 26 percent being taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. A majority of those choosing to bypass the San Clemente hospital do so as a result of family or patient choice, Wells said, with another 20 percent requiring direct transport to Mission as a trauma center. Averaging transport times found a nine-minute difference in transportation to the San Clemente hospital and Mission hospital—7.5 minutes compared to 16.5.
MemorialCare officials and advocates for the current hospital configuration spoke at the meeting as well. Hospital administrator Tony Struthers said MemorialCare remains open to a legislative fix to allow for a freestanding emergency room to be in place at a potential new facility. He also said the company’s development partner had reached out to a number of specialists and found strong interest in the proposed advanced urgent care facility.
Advocates for the current facility noted the increased times Wells spoke about as reason to keep the emergency room open.