An investigation used public records requested by the USA Today Network and found dozens of hospitals transferred patients between January and October of 2022. The state-run Surge Operations Center arranged inpatient hospital beds, nursing home placements and other care arrangements for many patients after hospitals were unsuccessful in these efforts. Nearly 1 in 3 nursing home placements required state intervention, the report said.
Some reasons for the transfers included rural specialty care deserts, nursing home backlogs and service cutback due to staffing shortages.
