The Lake Oswego-based Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, a trade organization for the 62 hospitals in Oregon, says hospitals require assistance from state legislators, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported Aug. 15.
According to the report, a hospital capacity crisis is playing out in crowded emergency rooms around the state, with some patients leaving emergency departments because the wait is too long.
Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said that the system is slowly grinding to a halt.
"Hospitals urgently need help with this capacity crisis to free up inpatient beds and staff for patients who need to be in a hospital following a car accident, a heart attack, a cancer diagnosis or with many other needs that require hospital-level care," she said in a letter to Gov. Kate Brown.
State officials are considering grants for adult care homes to alleviate "boarding" patients in hospitals. At the same time, other money would pay to contract staff and fund enhancements to the coordination center, which tracks hospital beds statewide.
The Oregon Health Authority will likely ask the legislative emergency board to approve a "significant" amount to fund hospitals when it meets in September, according to the Chronicle.