Hospitals nationwide are seeing greater volumes of high-acuity patients than they have in the past. That, coupled with labor shortages and little to no space at post-acute care facilities are fueling discharge delays and other hospital capacity challenges.
Care Coordination
More than 53 percent of hospitals in the U.S. endured load imbalance during the pandemic, researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., have found.
With triple-digit temperatures in the southern and southwestern areas of the United States, it makes sense that hospital emergency departments are reporting increased patient census figures associated with heat-induced conditions like heat stroke.
Lengths of stay and discharge transitions from hospitals to post-acute care are climbing, according to the American Hospital Association and industry reports.
The weather. It's a topic that doesn't come up often in hospital news reporting, but this summer is set to be one of the hottest on record, and many hospitals are already grappling with the consequences of extreme heat.
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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law July 24 that will license all freestanding birth centers allowing them to more seamlessly operate throughout the state, according to a news release.
Some patients at HCA Healthcare's Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., are experiencing longer wait times between ambulance pickup and emergency room admission, the Citizen Times reported July 25.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., reopened July 24 after a temporary shutdown because of an explosion risk from ruptured lithium-ion batteries.
Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Health Systems plans to limit the scope of its at-home healthcare services by the end of July, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
The University of Louisville (Ky.) Hospital — the sole Level 1 trauma facility in the region — was without power for more than 12 hours July 15, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.