OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Nebraska Hospital Association is sounding the alarm about a growing problem.
Sometimes, patients need to be transferred to post-acute care settings like skilled nursing or care facilities.
But at any given time, 220 patients are waiting to be transferred. Last month alone, 104 people waited 30 days in a hospital and 18 waited six months or more.
Nebraska Hospital Association's President Jeremy Nordquist also says he's heard stories from larger hospitals, about people waiting more than 400 days unnecessarily.
“Delays in patient discharges to post-acute care have become a growing challenge for our hospitals, and it's reaching the point of a crisis,” said Nordquist.
Hospitals report that last year there were more than 35,000 avoidable days spent in hospitals.
To help, the association is proposing new payment models, a grant program for facility investments and improvements to capacity, waitlist transparency as well as prioritization.
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