Understanding what’s happening with patient volume was on the agenda at November’s SHARE-UMass Memorial Labor Management Partnership Council (LMPC) meeting, which brings together leaders from our union with the hospital’s executive leadership.
Kim Barry (ACNO and VP, Patient Care Services at UMass Memorial) described how hospitals across Massachusetts are dealing with high volume . . . including the ED boarders and bed shortages that go with it. SHARE members on the inpatient nursing floors and in the Emergency Rooms are dealing with this reality every day.
The high patient volume is caused by a combination of factors, including delayed care and short staffing, both inside hospitals and in the places hospitals discharge patients to, such as nursing homes, rehab centers, and behavioral health settings. The slides below further describe the issue, and UMass Memorial’s plan to deal with it.
This chart shows how many patients across Massachusetts were waiting for a bed elsewhere before they could be discharged on one day in September.
Kim described a wide range of changes and strategies that UMass Memorial is trying, all with the aim of improving the patient flow. In particular, there are several plans to add beds.
At the December meeting of the LMPC, we are going to talk about plans for anticipated Winter surges of COVID, RSV, etc.