The CMS two-midnight rule and other financial incentives have spurred hospitals to classify more stays as outpatient observation and build new short-stay spaces within their facilities, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.
Settings that can house short-stay patients include observation units (OUs), post-procedural areas and universal care units (UCUs).
For instance, At Kettering Indu & Raj Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek, Ohio, the 20-bed UCU is central to multiple feeder departments, but has no exterior views or windows.
A skylit interior garden provides respite for waiting families just outside the unit.
Cleanliness in Hospitals: Clinical Priority and Community Perception
Dana-Farber Receives $50M Gift for Planned Cancer Hospital
Clarinda Regional Health Center Reports Data Security Incident
Gaps in Nurses' Environmental Cleaning Knowledge Grow Amid Rising EVS Pressures
Ground Broken on the Southern Nevada Forensic Facility