Corewell Health doctors urge public to ‘match your symptoms to the setting’
STATEWIDE — Illnesses are spreading and wait times are lengthening. Doctors at Corewell Health are spreading the word on what exactly warrants a trip to the hospital.
Published February 6, 2025
“There is a difference in who should be coming to the ER versus who should be going to their regular doctor or primary care or urgent care."
Dr. Matthew Sims, director of infectious diseases research, Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan
STATEWIDE — Illnesses are spreading and wait times are lengthening. Doctors at Corewell Health are spreading the word on what exactly warrants a trip to the hospital.
“We are seeing quite a bit of patients coming in, in waves throughout our system, and it's not just Corewell, it’s our community partners too,” Charles Gibson, M.D., chief medical officer at Corewell Health in West Michigan, said during a press conference held online Feb. 6. “It’s the usual run-of-the-mill things that people are coming in with. … But we are also seeing quite an influx of patients related to the respiratory viruses that are in season right now.”
Respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus have been wreaking havoc throughout Michigan and the country, according to Gibson, resulting in higher wait times at the hospital.
Matthew Sims, M.D., director of infectious diseases research, Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan, said that influenza has been on the rise and is up 25% to 30% in positivity right now.
“Out of every 10 people who are getting tested, two or three are testing positive, and that includes both in and outpatients,” Sims said. “But as previously stated, we are seeing a lot of this in our emergency rooms.”
Sims said that around 10% of cases in the emergency room have been influenza patients, and almost 20% of those are getting admitted, with a number of them ending up in the intensive care unit.
COVID-19 has remained consistent with a 5% positivity case rate of all those tested, while RSV peaked in late December at around 10%, according to Sims. RSV is now at 3% to 4% positivity rate but varies across Michigan and is around 10% on the west side of the state.
“The problem becomes when people are sort of using the ER as their primary care or as an urgent care instead of as an emergency room,” Sims said. “There is a difference in who should be coming to the ER versus who should be going to their regular doctor or primary care or urgent care.”
When trying to decide where to get treatment, Gibson said to check if your “symptoms match the setting.”
Only severe and life-threatening symptoms should be seen in the emergency room, while others can be seen by urgent care, primary care doctors or in a virtual appointment.
Some symptoms that would warrant an emergency care visit include severe abdominal pain; asthma attacks; severe broken bones or exposed bones; cuts and wounds that are deep or won’t stop bleeding; a fever over 104 degrees as an adult; heart attack symptoms; seizures; severe body or head trauma; shortness of breath; stroke symptoms; or severe vomiting and throwing up blood, according to Corewell Health’s symptom guide on corewellhealth.org.
“The best thing is to try and make sure your symptoms match your setting, so that you can go to the right place,” Gibson said. “It would be better to check with your primary care physician or an urgent care physician before you consider it (going to the ER).”
Sims mentioned that the doctors and nurses want to take care of those who need lifesaving treatments, but sometimes because of the influx of patients who may not need treatment, it is hard to attend to those who do.
“There are medications we can give in the hospital that we can’t give elsewhere; there are levels of support we can give with oxygen ventilators if needed, and even more advanced technologies if needed,” Sims said. “But to be able to use those effectively and to have everybody get what they need, we really have to make sure that we are keeping the patients that need to be there and discharging the patients who are ready to go home, and not admitting the patients that don’t need to be there.”
Getting vaccinated is one strategy to prevent a visit to the doctor’s office. According to Sims, a vaccination such as a flu shot can be the determining factor in how sick a person will get from the flu.
“It is absolutely not too late to get vaccinated,” Sims said. “You may get the flu even if you got vaccinated. But, you probably won’t get very sick, you're probably not going to need to be in the hospital, probably not going to need to be on a ventilator. It protects people, and that has been shown season after season.”
Gibson said that Corewell Health is trying to spread the word on the influx of patients and how to prevent a trip to the ER.
“I always say the same sort of things, get vaccinated, stay home when you are sick, seek medical care as appropriate, have good hand hygiene,” he said. “There are all sorts of things to help prevent the spread and prevent the overload.”
Corewell Health also provides wait times for urgent cares on its website at clockwisemd.com/groups/143, and a symptom guide at corewellhealth.org/care-and-specialties/same-day-care/symptoms-guide.
For more information on Corewell Health, visit corewellhealth.org.
