TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Immediate Bed Availability and Barriers to Discharge in a United States Children's Hospital
AU - Burgess, M. Catherine
AU - Delorenzo, Debbie
AU - Eriksson, Carl
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc..
PY - 2021/10/3
Y1 - 2021/10/3
N2 - Objectives: The aim of this study was to quantify immediate bed availability (IBA) in a United States children's hospital and treatment needs of hospitalized patients whose needs could be met outside a traditional hospital setting. Methods: Using a novel tool to capture census, scheduled discharges, and resource needs for hospitalized patients, we surveyed our hospital's 5 non-neonatal inpatient pediatric units on 4 d over 1 y. Results: Median ward occupancy was 81% (range, 58-79), median intensive care unit occupancy was 80% (range, 7-19), and median IBA was 42% (range, 34-59). A median of 14 patients per day (13% of total capacity) had treatment needs that could be met by providing limited support in a nontraditional setting; the most common reason for requiring ongoing hospitalization in this group of patients was a safe discharge plan. Conclusions: Our median IBA of 42% exceeds federal recommendations, but varies widely between days surveyed. Even on days when IBA percentage is high, our total number of available beds is unlikely to meet pediatric population needs in a large-scale public health emergency.
AB - Objectives: The aim of this study was to quantify immediate bed availability (IBA) in a United States children's hospital and treatment needs of hospitalized patients whose needs could be met outside a traditional hospital setting. Methods: Using a novel tool to capture census, scheduled discharges, and resource needs for hospitalized patients, we surveyed our hospital's 5 non-neonatal inpatient pediatric units on 4 d over 1 y. Results: Median ward occupancy was 81% (range, 58-79), median intensive care unit occupancy was 80% (range, 7-19), and median IBA was 42% (range, 34-59). A median of 14 patients per day (13% of total capacity) had treatment needs that could be met by providing limited support in a nontraditional setting; the most common reason for requiring ongoing hospitalization in this group of patients was a safe discharge plan. Conclusions: Our median IBA of 42% exceeds federal recommendations, but varies widely between days surveyed. Even on days when IBA percentage is high, our total number of available beds is unlikely to meet pediatric population needs in a large-scale public health emergency.
KW - disaster medicine
KW - emergency preparedness
KW - hospital bed capacity
KW - surge capacity
KW - vulnerable populations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083392249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85083392249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2020.62
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2020.62
M3 - Article
C2 - 32241323
AN - SCOPUS:85083392249
SN - 1935-7893
VL - 15
SP - 563
EP - 567
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
IS - 5
ER -