A new study finds that average hospital capacity in the US is now 75%. That's 11% higher than before the pandemic.
The research from UCLA found that Maine's capacity is just under the national average. Lead investigator Richard Leuchter, assistant professor of medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, says the numbers are concerning because they're approaching the 85% threshold that's considered a shortage.
"It turns out that just the aging population alone and the strain that will put on the hospitals will push the US above 85% by 2032 if we don't do anything right now to address the supply of hospital beds or demand for them," he says.
Leuchter says a lack of staffed beds and hospital closures are driving the increased capacity. Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association, says a major contributor in Maine is longer hospital stays while patients wait to be discharged to other levels of care.
"Ya know, backups and problems outside of the hospital that are keeping our patients in there when they should be outside," Michaud says.
Those back ups are in places such as nursing homes and behavioral health care settings, says Michaud. He says boosting the nursing workforce is critical to ensure adequate hospital bed capacity.
The study says other solutions include implementing policies to prevent hospital closures, as well as offering different care models that lower demand for hospital-level services.
