People In Mental Health Crisis Face Long Waits In The Emergency Room For An Available Bed

With emergency rooms overcrowded and understaffed in the coronavirus pandemic, individuals facing a mental health crisis may have to wait days before a bed is available.

Boarding — the process where patients wait in the emergency room before proper care is available, sometimes in stretchers in the hallways — is becoming more common in hospitals.

Host Lisa Mullins speaks with Dr. Seth Trueger, an emergency room doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, about the long waits.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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