More than 1,700 patients were transferred from New York hospitals during care capacity shortages in 2022, leaving many to receive care hundreds of miles from home, The Journal News reported Oct. 12.
An investigation used public records requested by the USA Today Network and found dozens of hospitals transferred patients between January and October of 2022. The state-run Surge Operations Center arranged inpatient hospital beds, nursing home placements and other care arrangements for many patients after hospitals were unsuccessful in these efforts. Nearly 1 in 3 nursing home placements required state intervention, the report said.
Some reasons for the transfers included rural specialty care deserts, nursing home backlogs and service cutback due to staffing shortages.