Primary-care needs spill over into ERs in Washington, DC-area hospitals

Hospital emergency departments in the region surrounding Washington, DC, are overflowing with patients affected by the recession and are increasingly using hospitals as their primary source of healthcare, according health officials. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association said many of its members are at the breaking point and to ease the strain, hospitals and community organizations are setting up primary-care clinics to serve low-income and uninsured patients at little or no cost.