U.S. hospital-based emergency rooms are packed, but many are planning to expand in the next couple years, according to a new report.
Between 40% to 50% of an estimated 4,500 hospital-based emergency rooms have crowding, according to a report released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reasons include: a higher percentage of nursing vacancies, increased patient volume, and patients waiting longer and taking longer to be treated.
About one-third of the hospitals surveyed said they planned to expand their ERs in the next two years; 16.1% had done so in the previous two years, CDC said.
See the report at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs.
