Woman spends days as boarder at emergency room

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- A St. Louis pistillate spent days successful an country infirmary aft waiting hours successful the exigency country and connected a gurney successful the hallway owed to a surge successful COVID cases.

Khoshekh Penrose told News 4 she spent 3 days arsenic a "boarder" astatine St. Clare Hospital successful St. Louis County, due to the fact that the infirmary was overwhelmed with aggregate patients.

Earlier this week, during a St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force meeting, Dr. Aamina Akhtar, main aesculapian serviceman for Mercy Hospital South, described "boarders" arsenic radical with acute illnesses who are admitted into hospitals, but walk clip successful hallways oregon areas that aren't designed to necessarily provide the champion attraction for patients.

Penrose said she usually goes to St. Clare Hospital due to the fact that the hold is shorter. She went a fewer days aft Christmas for a septic kidney infection. She added she's been dealing with chronic kidney infections for the past twelvemonth oregon so.

"I had a fever of 103 astatine 1 point, and I was not considered a priority," Penrose said. "When I went to St. Clare this time, they had a 9-hour wait. This was precise utmost for them. They weren't prioritizing patients unless determination was a terrible situation."

Penrose said the unit astatine St. Clare infirmary tried to nonstop her to Saint Louis University Hospital, but that infirmary wouldn't instrumentality her due to the fact that it was overwhelmed arsenic well. She said she needed to beryllium cared for by a urologist, but St. Clare assigned an infectious illness doc to dainty her, arsenic good arsenic pulling different unit members from antithetic departments.

"I was connected a gurney successful the hallway," she added. "It was truly absorbing to spot the nurses being similar 'I'm atrocious I'm taking truthful long, I don't cognize wherever things are.' By the clip I near St. Clare, they were telling--the nurses were telling maine astir however I was 1 of the fortunate ones that I yet did get a furniture successful a country portion I was boarding, but determination were patients by that constituent that were successful the hallway boarding."