There are more than 5,000 community hospitals in the United States. The care they provide for patients is critical and often extends beyond the four walls of the hospital and into the community. As a result, community hospitals provide 24/7 access to needed medical care, support unmet community health needs and serve as economic pillars in their community.
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Highlights: A widespread decrease is noted this month across all five of our focus utilization metrics: ambulatory surgeries have the deepest dip in volumes going from 10% over pre-COVID baseline to -2% below baseline in November. Emergency department visits present the second biggest drop in volumes going from -19% below baseline in October to -26% below baseline in November. Observation admissions show a similar decrease in volumes going from 8% over baseline in October to 0% in November, and acute care admissions declined going from -12% below baseline in October to -16% in November. Finally, psychiatric admissions decreased from -21% below baseline in October to -24% in November (see Fig. 1).
A downward shift in psychiatric admissions is noted this month after remaining below the median for six months consecutively as pictured in Fig. 2 below. This month involuntary admissions moved above the median for the reported time period following the downward trend noted over the past five months as depicted in Fig. 3 below.
Points forts: A generalized increase in volumes across all five focus utilization metrics from September to October 2024 compared to 2020 pre-COVID baselines. Ambulatory surgery volumes present the biggest increase going from -6% below baselines in September to 10% above baseline in October. Observation admission volumes remain above baseline from September to October, going from 2% to 8%. Acute care admissions increased from -17% below baseline in September to -12% in October, and psychiatric admissions also increased going from -25 % below baselines in September to -21% in October. Lastly, emergency department visits saw the smallest increase in volumes going from -21% below baseline in September to -19% in October (see Fig. 1 below).
Although there is an uptick of psychiatric admissions volumes this month the metric continues to remain below the median as shown in Fig. 2 below. This month specialty admissions are back up slightly above the median after the data shift noticed over the last six months as depicted in Fig. 3 below.
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Three out of five of our focus utilization metrics saw a decline in volumes going from August to September 2024 compared to 2020 pre-COVID baselines. Ambulatory surgery volumes presented the biggest decrease going from 1% over the baseline in August to -6% below baseline in September. Acute care admissions also went down from -14% to -17% below baseline from August to September, and psychiatric admissions follow the same pattern with a slight decrease in volumes going from -23% to -25% below baseline. Emergency Department visits and observation admissions are the two metrics with an increase in volumes going from -27% to -21% below baseline and -11% below to 2% above baseline respectively (see Fig. 1 below).
Psychiatric admissions continue to remain below the median in September, with a decline in volumes this month compared to the increase of the the previous two months as shown in Fig. 2 below. This is depicted in Table 7 of the report with all but one hospital showing a decrease in volumes in September 2024.
This success story is about one patient’s journey to independence.
A patient was admitted to BridgePoint’s Capitol Hill Continuing Care Hospital Long Term Acute Care facility after a prolonged hospitalization at MedStar Washington Hospital Center where her course of treatment entailed thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair and lumbar drain placement. Secondary to her treatment, she suffered from acute respiratory failure and sustained general body deconditioning due to continuous inactivity. Upon admission to BridgePoint Capitol Hill she was in need of ventilator weaning and trach care, antibiotic therapy, hemodialysis, nutritional therapy, wound care, rehabilitation, and assistance with ADLs.
The Journey
The patient was cared for by BridgePoint’s specialized Interdisciplinary Team that consisted of a Critical Care Physician, a Pulmonologist, Respiratory Therapist, and the Wound Care team. In addition, the patient received treatment from Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists who focused on her overall well-being and rehabilitation. The patient tolerated continuous weaning for five days and was eventually decannulated. During the course of her therapy, she gradually went from supine state to being able to sit with assistance.
Associate members help support DCHA’s programming and services, while providing access to valuable resources and services to our member hospitals. Thank you to our new associate members, and our current members for your support of the hospital and health care community. DCHA encourages all member hospitals to reach out to associate members because doing business with associate members is good business.
New Associate Members
Current Associate Members
