Ready or not

A new study by the Irving based American College of Emergency Physicians may be a bitter pill to swallow. The organization surveyed more than 1,000 ER doctors and found that almost 90% of them were worried about their department's ability to take care of the crush of patients with flu-like symptoms. They also felt the federal government didn't do a very good job of helping them out either. Imagine that. I've done stories about tents being pitched at hospitals to take care of the overflow. Some hospitals triage patients with flu-like symptoms away from healthy ones, which sounds like a good idea. The doctor we interviewed didn't want the name of the hospital where she works revealed. I understand, the study isn't about any one hospital, but rather the state of emergency care in this country. She says that once the flu epidemic is over, emergency care needs a good shot in the arm. Want a second opinion? Ask the other 999 doctors who took part in the study.