Pittsburgh-based UPMC has trimmed 410 beds in the last six months, bringing occupancy up to the hospital network's highest since 2012 — 79 percent — and higher than other hospitals in the area, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Hospital, psychiatric and long-term care beds have been cut, bringing the total number of beds in the network to 4,429 as of Dec. 31, 2014. That's down 8.4 percent from the same six-month period in 2013. The deepest cuts are in skilled nursing and medical surgical beds, which decreased 26 percent and 9 percent, respectively, compared to the same six-month period in 2013, according to the report.
The reduction is normal, UPMC spokeswoman Susan Manko told the Pittsburgh Business Times, and does not affect employment.
The reduction is a result of declining admissions. Medical-surgical patient discharges fell 4.7 percent at UPMC in the last six months, compared to the 3.6 percent decrease across all hospitals in the region during the same time period, according to the report.
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