UC Davis Medical Center sees record number of patients in Emergency Department

UC Davis Medical Center treated a record number of 313 patients in the Emergency Department (ED) on Monday.

“We are seeing record-breaking numbers of patients turning up at the Emergency Department with no apparent singular cause of the increase,” said Daniel K. Colby, co-medical director of the Department of Emergency Medicine. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our amazing doctors, nurses and staff, we are still always prepared to provide care for patients having emergencies.”

Our emergency department provides a critical source of health care to people in our community with acute medical conditions or who have experienced trauma or injury.” —Daniel Colby, co-medical director of the Department of Emergency Medicine

Across the country, hospital emergency rooms are seeing a record number of patient visits — 131.3 million a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Barriers to accessing care, social contributors of health and population growth in the region could all be contributing to our rising numbers,” Colby added.

While California has seen its population decline in recent years, regions like Sacramento are experiencing population increases according to the state’s Department of Finance.

Last year, Sacramento’s population increased the most among California's 10 largest cities. Some of that increase is the result of migration from the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley area which was up nearly 38%, according to a recent real estate report that uses U.S. Postal Service data.

UC Davis Medical Center is California’s only level I trauma center north of San Francisco and is one of only three in the state with level I verification for both adult and pediatric trauma. The Medical Center admits 8,000 trauma patients annually.

Based upon metrics that compare trauma centers and quality across the nation, UC Davis Medical Center's trauma volumes now exceed some of the busiest trauma centers in the country, while maintaining a quality of care that is in the top 10% in the nation for patient mortality and complications.

“Our Emergency Department provides a critical source of health care to people in our community with acute medical conditions or who have experienced trauma or injury,” Colby said. “We are incredibly proud of our team, and we will continue to work to provide the best care possible to our community.”