Washington State Facing Hospital Capacity Crisis

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Hospital capacity levels in Washington State have reached, or surpassed, levels never seen before.

And that includes throughout the pandemic.

But, Dr. Steve Mitchell from the Washington Medical Coordination Center says while COVID-19 is still here, the reasons for these latest issues aren’t the virus, “One, the lack of people to staff our hospitals…and two, the continuing of challenge of being to transition patients from our hospitals, who no longer need to be in our hospitals, into those long term or post acute care facilities.”

The Washington State Hospital Association’s Taya Briley says in response, hospitals are asking the state to ease state guardianship rules, “For a practical standponit…one stuck patient prevents a large number of acute care patients from getting the services they need.”

She says across the state, between 10 and 20 percent of capacity is being taken by people who don’t need to be there, “They’re stuck and they’re waiting to be moved.”