BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Officials with another county’s emergency services have expressed concerns with Mission Health over handoff times from an ambulance to the emergency department.

Buncombe County Government sent a letter to Mission Health on Nov. 6, 2023 citing an increase of transfer times keeping ambulance crews at the hospital longer.

MCDOWELL COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES VOICES CONCERNS OVER WAIT TIMES AT MISSION HOSPITAL

The letter was signed by Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder and County Emergency Services Director Taylor Jones.

It calls the situation “unsafe and unsustainable,” and says ambulance crews will implement a rapid handoff procedure starting Dec. 15 if there is not improvement.

MCDOWELL COUNTY EMS PAUSES NON-EMERGENCY TRANSFERS DUE TO LONG WAIT TIMES AT MISSION HOSPITAL

Nancy Lindell, spokesperson for Mission Health, sent News 13 the following statement regarding the county’s letter:

It would be accurate to say that Mission is being asked to care for more patients than it has beds at times. In line with national trends about people delaying care during the pandemic and being more sick when they come to the ER, Mission Hospital has seen a significant rise in more acute patients arriving at our emergency room. Further, year over year, the number of those patients coming to the hospital via EMS is also increasing. Increased demand in the ER is what has changed in recent years, and we are trying to expand our capacity to care for the growing number of ER and acute care patients. As required by North Carolina law, we applied for 67 additional acute care beds that would have eased the burden on our existing ER and helped reduce ER wait times. Attorney General Stein undertook a concerted campaign to prevent Mission from obtaining those much-needed patient beds. Mission Hospital has been approved to add two ERs, which would ease congestion in our main ER, but both now are stalled in the State’s appeal process.