Hospitals are increasingly adopting the concept of "discharge lounges" to improve patient experience and throughput.
These specialized spaces give patients a quiet, comfortable place to relax during the discharge process, while also allowing hospitals to turn around beds more quickly, reducing the wait times for incoming patients.
New York City-based Montefiore Health System opened a discharge lounge at its Moses campus in 2021. The lounge, located near the hospital's front lobby, is staffed by certified nurse assistants who act as discharge lounge coordinators. These coordinators pick up patients from their rooms and escort them to the lounge, where they can watch TV or enjoy free snacks while waiting to be discharged. The CNAs then escort the patients to their cars and call them the next day to ensure their discharge plans are clear.
About one-third of hospital and emergency department patients use the discharge lounge, which equates to about 43 patients per day. The average stay in the lounge is just 35 minutes. Since its launch, Montefiore has saved 10,000 bed hours, or the equivalent of 56 additional beds, the health system said Aug. 3.
"In the short time it has been open, our customer-centric discharge lounge has led to increased patient satisfaction, and an extra level of trust and confidence with our staff," Peter Semczuk, DDS, senior vice president and executive director of Montefiore's Moses and Wakefield campuses, said in a news release. "As a bonus, we are increasing access to life-saving care for our Bronx community; it doesn't get better than that."
Montefiore is not the only health system seeing major clinical and operational benefits from discharge lounges. Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital in Palos Heights, Ill., cut its average ED wait time from four hours down to one since opening a lounge in December 2022, and 49 percent fewer patients have left the ED without being seen.
Massachusetts General first piloted a discharge lounge in 2020 and now serves 125 patients or more each month. Free meal vouchers and transportation support services are provided to patients as needed. Hospital leaders say the space has also brought ED wait times down to about one hour.
The rising popularity of "discharge lounges" mirrors a broader trend within hospitals, where patient-centered care and operational efficiency take center stage. These innovative spaces not only elevate patient comfort and satisfaction, but also prove effective at optimizing capacity management — a top priority for leaders today amid rising patient volumes and staffing shortages.