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.
The Role of Positive Distraction in Pediatric Design
Healthcare Waste is Fueling America's Debt
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System to Rebrand Following Sanford Health Merger
How Digital Technologies Are Reshaping Performance in Healthcare Facilities
The Role of Plumbing in Healthcare-Associated Infections