‘This is the busiest time we’ve ever had’: St. Charles Bend reaches capacity due to Colorado summer visitors, emergencies and illnesses

(Update: Added video and comments from two emergency physicians)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The summer months are bringing tourists all over Bend and the High Desert, with small businesses seeing an influx of customers, restaurants with full reservations — and the St. Charles Bend emergency room reaching capacity, too.

Doctors at St. Charles Hospital in Bend regularly deal with a full emergency room. The hospital is breaking records, with typical July numbers being reached in May.

“We’re at a time where we’ve never been busier,” said Dr. Marika Gassner, a general surgeon at St. Charles Bend. “We’re seeing about a 20% increase year over year since 2018, before the pandemic. We thought it was going to slow down, but it turns out it’s not. So these volumes are increasing exponentially.”

More tourists in the summer means more injuries. St. Charles is the only Level 2 trauma center east of the Cascades, meaning it’s the only hospital where patients receive intensive care and surgery. Patients requiring Level 1 care are transferred to Portland.

To cope with demand, Dr. Katie Richards explains that the emergency room has implemented a new method of patient care.

“When you come into the emergency room during our peak times, you’ll actually see a physician or physician assistant pretty quickly as part of your care, to kind of get some things started in the waiting room before a bed is even available,” Richards said.

Doctors say motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of injuries, along with recreational accidents from mountain biking, swimming and other hot-weather activities. During the summer, surgeons will remain on call.

Gassner said: “The limiting factor is the number of operating rooms and surgeons. So now we have 10 surgeons on our team. That’s a pretty big team for a hospital of this size, but we’re extremely busy running an operating room, between trauma and emergency general surgery on a daily basis.”

During our hour-long visit, several ambulances arrived, as well as an emergency helicopter.

St. Charles doctors have some advice for you before heading to the emergency room. If you’re outside, make sure you know your resources, such as a location if you’re hiking, stay alert and drive safely without distractions.

Gassner said: “We’ve never had a problem attracting people, but it’s very, very difficult to predict.”

St. Charles also has an online chart to help you determine if your symptoms require a visit to your primary care physician, the emergency room, or the urgent care. You can find this list at http://www.stcharleshealthcare.org.