(FEBRUARY 21, 2024) UVMMC President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., commented to Vermont Public for a story about health care officials’ statement to lawmakers that a shortage of nursing home beds has forced hospitals to become residential care providers for patients who have nowhere else to go.
Stephen Leffler, M.D., professor of emergency medicine and president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center
(FEBRUARY 21, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D., professor of emergency medicine and president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, commented to Vermont Public for a story about health care officials’ statement to lawmakers that a shortage of nursing home beds has forced hospitals to become residential care providers for patients who have nowhere else to go.
Leffler said his hospital is currently boarding 68 patients who are ready for discharge. Lack of placement options for those patients, he said, is delaying access to care for people with serious medical needs.
“A long-term boarder on one of our medical floors may not seem like a big deal, we have 430 beds,” Leffler said. “But if every bed is full, where is that patient going to go?”
VT Digger also covered this topic in a story about a lack of staff at nursing homes, rehab facilities, and home health care agencies resulting in many Vermonters staying in hospitals much longer than necessary.
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