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Assessing Immediate Bed Availability and Barriers to Discharge in a United States Children’s Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2020

M. Catherine Burgess ,
Debbie DeLorenzo  and
Carl Eriksson
M. Catherine Burgess
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Debbie DeLorenzo
Affiliation:
Pediatric Case Management, Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Portland, Oregon
Carl Eriksson*
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Portland, Oregon
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Carl Eriksson, 707 SW Gaines Street CDRC-P, Portland, OR97239 (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

disaster medicineemergency preparednesshospital bed capacitysurge capacityvulnerable populations
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , October 2021 , pp. 563 - 567
Copyright
© 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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References

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