triage

Impoverished alter-abled Benthamite Hippie craftsper sez the hand-wringing over university district closure is privileged Firstie malarky..  Yes, tens of thousands will perish in agony when Cascadia rips loose, but most people get through life with few life-threatening problems.  If a delay of several hours to reach a hospital means they die, perhaps it was their time to die.  

My brain sprang 27 leaks while I was supporting my family by transcribing from a weekly rent motel.  Scarred Heart dispensed the mandated  emergency care then discharged me to the street at 1am without notifying my partner.  A passerby called and we squatted in the overpark garage for a week before social workers arranged medicare and transport to OHSU.

I survived.  Takes a lot to kill most people.

Best way to ration emergency care is have people call a central triage site.  A few questions with AI will prioritize uncontrolled bleeding, heart attack, and stroke.   Send EMS.

Next tier ~~ ortho tauma, kidney stones, high fever in kids, messy nausea and vomiting ~~ assign an ER or urgent care checkin time.
We have squandered millions on treating complex social service problems with ER care. 

6% of UD ED patients are admitted, 21% of RiverBend ED patients are admitted.
univ district fact sheet