running at or near capacity, at all times, even without a pandemic going on. I work at a busy county hospital, our average ED waiting time was 9 hours *before* this COVID-19 pandemic erupted.

And when I admit a patient from the ED to the ICU, it often takes 12 to 24 hours (sometimes longer) before they actually physically leave my ED and go to the ICU, because the ICU is already overcrowded - and again, this is*before* the COVID-19 pandemic. People waiting for admission to the general medicine floor can be stuck in the ED for several *DAYS* until a bed is open for them.

This is all baseline for us, just another random day. So when I see these posts thinking that "Hospitals won't really be overwhelmed by a surge of COVID patients", I just shake my head, because many hospitals are already overwhelmed, all day every day - you just don't know about it.

And while I'm on my soapbox, let me just say this: The next time you are in the emergency department somewhere, and you are tempted to throw a tantrum because you have been waiting over 30 minutes to be seen by a doctor, maybe keep this post in mind. It's not like the medical staff takes joy in having a waiting room full of angry people. Everyone is working as hard and fast as they can, I promise.