Comments on: Census

By: nurse 1961

nurse 1961 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:50:14 +0000

We can tell how “bad” our day is going to be by looking at which doc is coming in. Two slow docs in a row on a normal day kills the LOS numbers.

Just a hint: Not everyone needs a “work-up”, we are an ED not the physician office!!!!

By: The Happy Hospitalist

The Happy Hospitalist — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:55:58 +0000

I can usually tell how busy the hospital is by who the doctor in the ED is. LOL

By: Diane

Diane — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:14:38 +0000

Our 62 bed hospital was 25% over capacity this past week. 13 patients boarding in our 14 bed ER; all ER patients seen on hall gurneys. Seems like they came out of nowhere…

By: GruntDoc

GruntDoc — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:33:57 +0000

I noticed it because I walk past it twice a day. Crazy.

By: John

John — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:58:13 +0000

Despite how bad that looks that is actually fairly normal for late night when the transporters clear all the wayward stretchers off the units. It has happened that way for the five years I have been here. Not saying the census isn’t off just that the “runway” in the photo has been used as a temp holding area for a long time.

By: nurse 1961

nurse 1961 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:00:39 +0000

Beds were used up today and patient’s waited in the ED for more. Over 200 patients in a 12-hour shift. At one point we were waiting for 28 admission beds. The reprieve is over!!

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:57:53 +0000

A greater mystery than these spare beds is what happens to the pillows we occasionally have in the ED. They start in ED as precious commodities and then go upstairs with the patient on admission. However, they never come back to the ED. They go off into the great abyss of the admission wards never to be seen again. We must go through thousands of pillows. Is there really a pillow monster on the admission floors that consumes these things? Just one of life’s mysteries, I guess.

By: storytellerdoc

storytellerdoc — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:29:42 +0000

Enjoy the quiet time, my friend. Our ER census is a reflection of how many beds are sitting in the hallways during a shift. When I arrive, if the hallways are empty, I run and get a coffee to start my day. If I have to thread around beds, then no coffee for me.

I hope you have lots of coffee this week! Nice post.

By: Bob Rakov

Bob Rakov — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:18:51 +0000

Same here in our little west Texas hospital. Whereas last weekend, not a bed to be found. Go figure.

By: Richard Winters

Richard Winters — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:01:04 +0000

That’s a good place to look for lost ED gurneys. A sort of bed and gurney swap meet.