One Of The Largest Hospitals In The Pacific Northwest No Longer Turning Away Some Patients

SEATTLE (AP) – Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is again admitting and treating all types of patients after a lack of bed space caused the hospital to temporarily divert some people to other health care facilities.

The Seattle Times reports the hospital diverted care for about seven days earlier this month.

Patients who were generally less ill were moved to other Seattle hospitals.

Harborview mainly attributed the decision to staff and bed shortages because of delays in discharging patients who were waiting to be discharged to a long-term care facility.

Because of staff shortages at long-term care facilities, patients are often stuck at the hospital, creating a bed space bottleneck.