A woman has been praised for finding an alternative to the hospital when dealing with a minor injury.
Instead, Jenna Gestetner went to a local fire station and asked them to remove a ring sizer from her finger.
She recorded her visit from start to finish and shared it on TikTok (@jennaxhealth), where it has since racked up over 4 million views.
"I knew I needed help," the 22-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles, told Newsweek. "But it wasn't an emergency."
Gestetner, who is the founder of a healthcare company, hoped the firefighters would have something to remove the tool used to measure the size of a finger or the inner diameter of a ring, which had been stuck for 30 minutes.
In the video, she can be heard telling the firefighters that she had placed her hand in cold water and held it above her head. However, she was unable to twist the ring sizer off, which led her to take an Uber to Fire Station 9 in Downtown Los Angeles.
Newsweek reached out to Fire Station 9 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
Gestetner told Newsweek: "I know how many people go to the emergency room unnecessarily and how much strain it puts on the system. I also knew that, besides likely having to wait hours, they may not even have the tools readily available to cut it off. Firefighters are first responders; I knew it wouldn't hurt to try going there first."
Upon arrival, she was met with enthusiasm from the team, who were keen to help.
One male voice can be heard saying they wished more Americans avoided the hospital in similar situations.
"I was a bit shocked at their reaction," she told Newsweek, adding: "It showed me how real that problem is and the lack of awareness most people have about what to do in situations requiring immediate assistance.
"There is definitely a lot more education needed on how to deal with urgent health situations and make informed decisions for yourself."
In California, the average cost of a doctor's appointment ranges from $103 to $158, whereas Gestetner spent just $40 on a taxi service to the station. The firefighters, who initially considered cutting it off, were ultimately able to remove the ring sizer using soap.
Gestetner ended the video at home, using an ice pack on her hand to reduce the swelling.
Her journey has received a lot of attention online.
"Wait, that's actually smart," said one viewer. Another wrote: "$40 of Ubers is WAY better than whatever the hospital would've cost! Glad they were able to get it off so easily."
"This is such a brilliant use of resources, plus it's pretty considerate of you to not add extra stress to healthcare for non-emergencies," praised a third commenter.
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