Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn., is seeking approval to add 70 beds to the hospital over the next two years to reduce capacity issues, according to a Hartford Business Journal report.
Adding 70 beds to the hospital's current 1,000 beds would cost $1.4 million but would help meet a surge in patient volume, largely driven by inpatient cases. The hospital's average daily census has increased by 35 patients per day. For the past few months, the hospital has also been operating with more than 80 percent occupancy, which is the optimal occupancy level, according to the report.
Vin Petrini, senior vice president of public affairs at the hospital, said in the report that the spike in inpatient volume is due in part to recruitment of new physicians, the opening of its Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2009 and an inter-facility transfer program initiated in 2010. The Y Access Line, which facilitates the admission of acutely ill patients from other healthcare facilities to Yale-New Haven, has increased patient transfers by 29 percent, according to the report. This increase in inpatient volume is in stark contrast to volume levels at other Connecticut hospitals, which have seen flat or decreasing volumes, according to the report.
The hospital is also awaiting regulatory approval of its $160 million acquisition of the Hospital of Saint Raphael, also in New Haven, which will also expand Yale-New Haven's capacity. If the transaction is not approved, Yale-New Haven Hospital would consider constructing a new $400 million patient tower to accommodate patient volume, according to the report.
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Adding 70 beds to the hospital's current 1,000 beds would cost $1.4 million but would help meet a surge in patient volume, largely driven by inpatient cases. The hospital's average daily census has increased by 35 patients per day. For the past few months, the hospital has also been operating with more than 80 percent occupancy, which is the optimal occupancy level, according to the report.
Vin Petrini, senior vice president of public affairs at the hospital, said in the report that the spike in inpatient volume is due in part to recruitment of new physicians, the opening of its Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2009 and an inter-facility transfer program initiated in 2010. The Y Access Line, which facilitates the admission of acutely ill patients from other healthcare facilities to Yale-New Haven, has increased patient transfers by 29 percent, according to the report. This increase in inpatient volume is in stark contrast to volume levels at other Connecticut hospitals, which have seen flat or decreasing volumes, according to the report.
The hospital is also awaiting regulatory approval of its $160 million acquisition of the Hospital of Saint Raphael, also in New Haven, which will also expand Yale-New Haven's capacity. If the transaction is not approved, Yale-New Haven Hospital would consider constructing a new $400 million patient tower to accommodate patient volume, according to the report.
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