Avoid The Everett Emergency Room This Holiday

Emergency Room sounds like the last place you want to spend your holiday now doesn’t it?. Doctor Ryan Keay, who is the director of emergency medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center, has put together a list of suggestions on how people in Everett can stay out of the emergency room this holiday season.

The most common reasons people spend their holidays in the emergency department–and how to avoid a trip there yourself.

Nobody wants to spend the holidays in the emergency department, yet every year the ED is flooded with holiday-related illnesses, injuries, and traumas.

According to Dr. Ryan Keay, Director of Emergency Medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, people come to the emergency department during the holidays for many reasons ranging from trauma to mental health issues.  Whatever the reason, Dr. Keay has provided some useful information and tips to help keep you and your family safe this holiday season.

Falls: Falls are the number one mechanism of injury for all age groups in Snohomish County. Each year the ED sees a 25 percent increase in the weeks following Thanksgiving.  Whether it’s falling from the roof hanging holiday lights or falling from a ladder decorating the tree the results can be life threatening.

• Place ladder on a firm, level surface.
• Ask someone to hold the ladder and spot you.
• Stay in the center of the ladder rung on which you’re standing.
• Hold the side rails with both hands.
• If you’re reaching or leaning too far, reposition the ladder closer to your work.

Car crashes: Speed, distracted driving, weather conditions and impaired driving are reasons people visit the ED all year long; however during the holiday season we are more likely to see an increase in injuries and in some cases death.  10% of accidents involving drivers under the age of 20 are attributed to distracted driving – using a hand-held device while driving, and 424,000 people were injured in 2012 due to distracted driving.  Dr. Ryan Keay says, “Put your cell phone down and turn it off while driving!”

• Wear your seat belt, place kids in appropriate car/booster seats and keep kids under the age of 13 in the back seat. Visit snosafekids.org to learn more.
• Obey the speed limit especially in wet, icy or snow covered roads.
• Make your car a “no-phone-zone”—no texting or talking while driving.

Substance abuse: Holiday parties, easy access to alcohol and drugs, social anxiety and pressure to “celebrate” mean many people using more than usual during the holidays.  This can result in increases in fatal and non-fatal injuries, violence, and serious health problems like depression, alcohol poisoning and overdose.  Lately, the problem seems to be getting worse.  The National Institutes on Drug Abuse says drug and alcohol-related ED visits increased 81 percent from 2004 (2.5 million) to 2009 (4.6 million).  “Your decisions around substance use will affect not only you, but those around you at home and on the road” says Dr. Ryan Keay.

• Know your limit.
• Assign a designated driver or call a cab.
• Drugs and alcohol don’t mix.


Please help if you can. It is greatly appreciated.

Mental health issues: For many troubled individuals, the holidays are nothing to be jolly about.  According to the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 12 million patients go to the Emergency Department with mental health issues annually.

Many people are lonely, depressed, and anxious during the holidays.  As a result depression wellbutrin rates and suicide attempts climb.  Some people seek relief from their pain at the ED; sometimes they go in simply for companionship.  About 41 percent of those individuals are admitted to the hospital.

• Celebrate the season by reaching out to neighbors, friends, and family
• Keep your stress levels in check through quality sleep, exercise, adherence to medications and/or mental health counseling, and a well-balanced diet
• Go easy on the drinking, or abstain completely for the holidays–alcohol is a depressant and can make mental health matters worse.
• Connect with the crisis line where you can talk to someone confidentially 24/7.
  Call 866-789-1511 or text “GO” to 741-741 for this free service.

General illness: Emergency Departments fill up with patients who are just plain sick with abdominal pain, respiratory illnesses and flu symptoms at the holidays. Don’t wait until symptoms become emergent.  Make an appointment with your healthcare provider or visit one of the many Providence walk-in clinics throughout Snohomish County.  To find a location near you visit www.providence.org.

Protecting our little ones: Visiting family and friends during the holidays pose an additional risk for our little ones.  Often times these homes are not baby proofed increasing the risk for falls, poisoning and choking.  Safe Kids Snohomish County advises to “always practice active and constant supervision to keep your child safe”.

Happy Holidays from the Providence Emergency Department and Safe Kids Snohomish County!