This is a common question, but one that has many complications. The number of beds in a hospital depends on a number of factors, including the number of ICU beds, how many maternity beds, and trends in demand. The following table summarizes the most common factors that influence the capacity of a hospital. But it’s important to understand the limitations of these estimates.
| State | Number Hospitals | Staffed Beds |
| IL – Illinois | 142 | 173066 |
| CA – California | 339 | 74264 |
| TX – Texas | 371 | 59802 |
| NY – New York | 187 | 57427 |
| FL – Florida | 219 | 56259 |
| PA – Pennsylvania | 180 | 34890 |
| OH – Ohio | 150 | 28252 |
| GA – Georgia | 112 | 22974 |
| MI – Michigan | 103 | 22963 |
| NC – North Carolina | 110 | 22796 |
| NJ – New Jersey | 78 | 20411 |
| TN – Tennessee | 97 | 18772 |
| VA – Virginia | 90 | 17649 |
| MO – Missouri | 81 | 17038 |
| IN – Indiana | 99 | 15687 |
| AL – Alabama | 90 | 14984 |
| LA – Louisiana | 110 | 14929 |
| MA – Massachusetts | 72 | 14779 |
| AZ – Arizona | 77 | 14075 |
| KY – Kentucky | 73 | 13117 |
| SC – South Carolina | 66 | 11259 |
| WI – Wisconsin | 84 | 11091 |
| MD – Maryland | 52 | 10663 |
| MN – Minnesota | 55 | 10389 |
| WA – Washington | 60 | 10111 |
| MS – Mississippi | 70 | 9976 |
| OK – Oklahoma | 90 | 9951 |
| CT – Connecticut | 35 | 8703 |
| CO – Colorado | 58 | 8315 |
| AR – Arkansas | 52 | 8006 |
| PR – Puerto Rico | 53 | 7993 |
| IA – Iowa | 39 | 6460 |
| KS – Kansas | 55 | 6446 |
| OR – Oregon | 36 | 6260 |
| NV – Nevada | 31 | 5897 |
| WV – West Virginia | 33 | 5363 |
| UT – Utah | 36 | 4866 |
| NE – Nebraska | 27 | 4404 |
| NM – New Mexico | 37 | 3800 |
| NH – New Hampshire | 14 | 3187 |
| ME – Maine | 19 | 2947 |
| SD – South Dakota | 24 | 2805 |
| ID – Idaho | 18 | 2624 |
| HI – Hawaii | 14 | 2533 |
| RI – Rhode Island | 11 | 2434 |
| MT – Montana | 17 | 2248 |
| DC – Washington D.C. | 7 | 2188 |
| DE – Delaware | 8 | 2117 |
| ND – North Dakota | 10 | 2002 |
| AK – Alaska | 11 | 1290 |
| WY – Wyoming | 14 | 1262 |
| VT – Vermont | 7 | 867 |
| GU – Guam | 3 | 382 |
| VI – Virgin Islands | 2 | 184 |
| MP – Northern Mariana Islands | 1 | 74 |
| AS – American Samoa | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 3930 | 893231 |
ICU bed capacity
The rapid spread of an infection known as Covid-19 is pushing hospitals to their ICU bed capacity limits. Across the US, there are more Covid-19 patients than beds available. In Alabama, for example, hospitals had less than 10% ICU bed capacity on Monday. Northeast Georgia Health Systems reported more than two hundred cases of the infection since January. The problem is compounded by a lack of bed space in general.
Several hospitals have added extra beds for patients who need intensive care. NYC Health + Hospitals, for instance, added 760 more ICU beds to their system this month. By April 2020, all their hospitals will have an additional 2,500 medical beds. Public and private hospitals in New York City closely monitor their metrics. According to Dr. Mitchell Katz, CEO of the city’s public hospital system, three hospitals added ICU units last week.
A hospital’s COVID-19 admissions to ICU beds is an important indicator of its overall strain. An ICU with 30% of its beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is suffering extreme strain. 60% is extremely stressful. Another important indicator of hospital strain is the ICU bed capacity. If patients with COVID-19 infections are more than 30% of the hospital’s total bed capacity, the hospital is under extreme strain.
While hospitals are often operating at peak levels, there is a limit to how many ICU beds can be filled in one day. As a result, hospitals must maintain some amount of spare beds in order to treat emergencies. In some cases, this means adding additional beds or extending hours in the medical clinic. Fortunately, there are ways to maximize ICU bed capacity by up to 10%. If an ICU needs an extra bed, the hospital should consider a tiered critical care approach.
The state of California uses a weighted formula to determine ICU bed capacity in each region. The state also requires hospitals to have a certain number of open ICU beds to accommodate non-COVID patients. For example, a hospital with no ICU bed capacity in Fresno county reported that it had none. In extreme cases, hospitals might even move patients to a neighboring hospital. While this may seem like a convenient option, this procedure is not always safe.
Number of maternity beds
The number of maternity beds at a hospital depends on the number of deliveries in a given year, the proportion of hospital births that take place at the facility, and how many of these are actually occupied. These factors need to be considered in a country’s population growth because they will affect the number of required beds. Furthermore, the number of births is unpredictable at a national level, and the figures for regional and local regions are even more difficult to predict. As a result, maternity bed capacity must be flexible, allowing for a range of admission types and lengths of stay.
A lack of maternity beds can lead to hospital closures. It may be difficult for a hospital to provide all the necessary gynecological care, especially when some mothers need to have a caesarean section. In these cases, the hospital might have to call in a specialist. Hence, the number of maternity beds at a hospital must be sufficient to accommodate the number of women expected to give birth in a given hospital.
In addition to the number of maternity beds, the number of deliveries is also expected to increase. Between 2014 and 2025, the number of deliveries and stays in maternity services will increase by 4.41% and 3.38% respectively. However, maternity bed capacity will decrease by nearly 17% and will fall further by 30 percent if the ALOS continues to be reduced. Further reductions in the number of maternity beds may be difficult to achieve, as almost all deliveries take place at hospitals.
In addition to reducing maternity bed occupancy, the lack of maternity beds is also linked to a shortage of general beds in hospitals. This can result in prolonged delays in emergency departments and inappropriate placement of patients. It can also lead to increased rates of hospital acquired infections, because staff are constantly under pressure to make available beds. Finally, the shortage of beds can result in a lack of staffing, which poses a safety risk to patients.
Number of ICU beds
The number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in a hospital is important in assessing a hospital’s readiness for a potential health crisis. A sudden epidemic of a new disease like coronavirus could overwhelm ICUs, which have a limited number of beds. But new estimates show wide variation across the nation. The number of ICU beds per capita varies by as much as tenfold from region to region. Professor Adam Sacarny of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health has conducted the analysis.
The study found that most large hospitals increased the number of ICU beds between April and July 2020, compared with fewer than 100 hospitals. The largest increase in the number of ICU beds was reported by general ACHs, with 48% of these hospitals reporting increases in ICU beds. However, the largest decreases occurred in orthopedic and surgical hospitals, which reported a 53% decrease in ICU beds. Hence, hospitals that were most prepared for the COVID-19 disaster had a higher number of ICU beds.
In 2016, hospitals reported an average of 93,000 ICU beds. However, the study did not include pediatric or neonatal intensive care beds. These beds are not typically used for adult patients who may be infected with a coronavirus. It also did not include government-run facilities, which account for approximately two percent of total ICU beds. It was not possible to calculate the ICU beds in all hospitals.
The number of ICU beds in a hospital fluctuates daily. In New York City, the number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds was 850 on Thursday, up from 525 three days earlier. These numbers indicate an urgent need for additional capacity in hospitals. However, it is difficult to determine which hospitals are best equipped to handle the increasing number of patients. The study also does not include the availability of beds for pediatric intensive care units in urban areas.
In Indiana, there is a similar variation in the number of ICU beds per hospital. Some hospitals have more ICU beds than others, while others have more than their fair share of beds in other departments. However, it is important to note that these numbers reflect certified bed counts, which are not real-time. Therefore, they should not be used to determine a hospital’s emergency response capacity. For this reason, the city’s officials have not disclosed the exact numbers for their public hospitals.
Number of ICU beds in a hospital
The percentage of ICU beds in a hospital is not the same everywhere. Some regions have more beds than others. However, it is important to note that if the percentage is too high, it means that higher-acuity patients are being sent to other areas. For example, a hospital that has a high occupancy rate in the ICU may be sending milder patients to other locations because it has no other room. This is a problem, as patients with milder illnesses like COPD can be moved to regular beds if the hospital has enough space.
One of the key ways to measure ICU capacity is to calculate the percentage change between the number of ICU beds reported on COVID-19 and the number reported on the NHSN’s annual survey. These two data sources are used to calculate percentage changes in ICU capacity, and the result is an index that tracks the size of a hospital’s ICU beds. Hospitals reporting smaller numbers of ICU beds should note that their numbers may be a result of temporary changes in ICU staffing.
For example, the number of ICU beds in a hospital’s overall hospital is higher in cities that have more than 1,000 beds. But hospitals in large cities have more beds than smaller towns, and those in rural areas have smaller populations. In addition to evaluating ICU beds, you should also consider the type of hospital. An ICU with a low ICU bed count will be less effective at treating patients.
As the city continues to deal with the pandemic, medical personnel may be called in from other areas to provide care. It is difficult to find specialized medical staff at a time like this. It may even be possible for a hospital to draw upon the same health care workers as another hospital in the same area. But in the meantime, it can take a few weeks before the city’s ICU beds can fully recover.
Although the COVID-19 hospitalizations ratio is an important indicator of strain in a hospital, it’s still not conclusive. If the ratio is higher than 10%, the hospital is under extreme stress. For instance, a hospital in Slidell, La., has more than 10 beds for every 1,000 residents. This variation is not unusual; Sacarny points out that the patterns in the ICU bed map are in line with health-care utilization measures.