Rural hospital bed management practices during influenza season

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Disease Control
• Rural Health

Background:

• Rural health services face significant challenges in managing infectious patients due to limited specialty beds and prolonged hospital stays.
• Seasonal influenza surges, coupled with chronic diseases and an aging population, strain rural hospital bed capacity, leading to bed block.
• Inappropriate patient placement during peak periods increases the risk of spreading hospital-acquired respiratory illnesses and exacerbates bed block.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine rural hospital bed management practices concerning patients with active influenza diagnoses.
• To investigate the association between increased intrahospital bed movement and nosocomial transmission rates.
• To assess the impact of bed transfers on staff workload in rural healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients admitted with influenza (community-acquired and hospital-acquired) during peak seasons (2016-2019).
• Audit of bed management practices for inpatients with influenza.
• Examination of infection control surveillance data and staff workload metrics.

Main Results:

• 229 patients with influenza resulted in 175 bed transfers.
• 40% of community-acquired and 70% of hospital-acquired influenza patients underwent at least one intrahospital bed transfer.
• Transfers required an additional 245 nursing and cleaning staff hours, impacting workload.

Conclusions:

• The rural facility lacked active influenza containment strategies during high occupancy.
• Multiple bed transfers during active influenza infection worsened bed block and inappropriate patient placement.
• Developing an optimal bed management plan is crucial for reducing nosocomial infections and staff workload in rural areas.