Mass General forms task force to combat ED overcrowding

Nearly five years ago, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston attempted to solve overcrowding in its emergency department with a $500 million expansion. However, according to a recent article in the Boston Globe, the ED at MGH is once again dealing with overcrowding issues.

Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of MGH, expressed concern in a staff memo Monday that overcrowding in the ED is leading to "delays, dissatisfaction, and sometimes even concerns about quality and safety," according to the Globe.

ED visits at MGH, the state's largest academic medical center, have increased by 18 percent since 2010, totaling upwards of 100,000 visits a year, according to the Globe. In addition to higher general demand, there are more patients coming from abroad and a growing need for more complex, lengthy care which limits bed availability. MGH has experienced a 164 percent increase in instances of "code help" or "capacity disaster" in the ED. The overcrowding has spread to other areas of the hospital as well. At peak hours the facility is typically 95 to 100 percent full.

At the root of the problem are 30 to 45 beds in shared rooms that typically go unused. These beds stay empty for a variety of reasons, including the inability to match patient gender and a reluctance to couple patients in a room with someone suffering from a mental health issue.

"One of the clear lessons learned is the value of single rooms," said Sally Mason Boemer, MGH's senior vice president of finance, according to the Boston Globe. "There were more demands than we anticipated.

A task force of hospital leaders was formed to develop immediate and long-term solutions to the overcrowding. "This is an institutional problem, not an emergency problem," said Ms. Mason Boemer. "I wouldn't be doing this task force if I had those 30 to 45 beds."

According to the Globe, emergency room overcrowding is a national trend. The number of ED visits increased across the country by approximately 40 percent in the years from 2000 to 2014.

 

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