When St. Vincent's Hospital closed its emergency room earlier this year, everyone anticipated it would cause problems for patients and hospitals alike, but just how much of a problem? City Limits magazine comes up with some numbers:

Ambulance transport time has increased by an average of three minutes and 15 seconds for all of downtown Manhattan. Triage patients are piling up as they wait for emergency care. Hospitals have expanded hours and pulled residents in to do the work of overtaxed doctors and nurses. Confusion is rampant as doctors try to recreate medical histories for St. Vincent's patients, who don't have access to their medical records. And ER violence has increased, as people in agonizing pain are forced to wait longer and longer for treatment.

Some hospitals are adjusting to the new reality by building new facilities, but for now, downtown hospitals are seriously taxed:

Before St. Vincent's closed, Bellevue racked up 8,000 ER visits a month. Since May, that figure has been closer to 10,000 a month. Before St. Vincent's closed, the hospital had 2,000 ambulance runs a month; in the three months after it closed, ambulance runs jumped to 2,685 a month.