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.
Site Selection Mistakes: What Not To Do
High-Performance EFCO Systems Shape MUSC's New Black River Medical Center
Heritage Valley Health System to Officially Affiliate with Alleghany Health Network
The Impact of Acoustics on Patient Privacy
Texas Behavioral Health Center in Dallas Opens with Ribon-Cutting Ceremony