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'We ended up waiting five hours for triage' | Family describes long wait in emergency room in Norfolk

Staci Martin took her mother to Sentara Leigh Hospital's emergency room recently but said the staff was overwhelmed with an influx of patients.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Staci Martin says her 78-year-old mom, Marianne, has a history of cardiovascular problems, including deep vein thrombosis. The medical condition can cause clots to develop in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, cutting off circulation and potentially causing severe problems. 

When Marianne started experiencing a problem in her leg, Staci rushed her to the Sentara Leigh Hospital triage center. There, she says they waited about five hours to see a doctor.

"So many people were there waiting for hours. Many of them had injuries and wounds," she said. "There were probably well over 100 people in the waiting room, not separated by possible COVID or other issues."

Staci said while they waited to see a doctor, she saw the nurses and other members of the staff running around, trying to attend to every patient. She said they appeared overwhelmed with the influx of patients.

"It looks like they've got it under control, but the docs and nurses just seem so exhausted," Staci said. "I mean, they're absolute heroes in all of this. If we can ease off the capacity, it would be great for them."

When they arrived at the ER, Staci said there was a tent set up outside of the triage, which hospitals commonly use to handle an overflow of patients. Sentara Healthcare told 13News Now the tent outside of the hospital is just a precaution for now, as they take on more coronavirus patients.

Sentara Healthcare isn't the only system seeing a rise in COVID-19 patients. Riverside Health System's President, Dr. Mike Dacey, said the majority of his COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.

"We're already very significantly strained in terms of our capacity because of the increased COVID cases," he said.

Staci said they have to wait a couple of weeks before her mother can get stints put in her legs during surgery. She said they have to check in with the hospital first to make sure they have enough beds before they schedule the appointment.

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