Question

Occupancy for a hospital

The Valley Hospital measures the in-patient occupancy of the hospital by determining the number of patient days divided by the number of available bed days in the hospital for a time period. The following in-patient data are available for the months of April, May, and June:

Admitted Patients:

April - 1,440

May - 1,860

June - 2,250

Average Length of stay per patient

April - 4.0 days

May - 3.5 days

June - 3.0 days

The hospital has 200 rooms. One hundred rooms are private and have a single bed per room. The other hundred rooms are semi-private with two beds per room.

a) Determine the number of in-patient days for each month.

The number of In-patient Days:

April - ?

May - ?

June -?

b) Determine the available bed days for each month

Available Bed Days

April - ?

May - ?

June - ?

c) Determine the occupancy rate for each month

Occupancy Rate

April - ?

May - ?

June - ?

d) Based on the occupancy rate, interpret the results?

The Occupancy rate ________ from April to May and again from May to June. This suggests the hospital bed capacity is ________ over time. A closer examination of the data reveals that the average length of stay is _________, while the number of admissions is ________. The average length of stay may be ________ because of greater efficiency in delivering health care, assuming no change in treatment mix being provided over the three months. This potential improvement provides a greater capacity to accept new patients, as can be seen from the three-month data. Thus, the _______ length of stay and greater occupancy are both contributing to the hospital's ability to serve more patients per month.

  

Answer 1

The Valley Hospitals

1.    Number Of In-Patient Days

Month	Admitted Patients (AP) (1)	Average Length Of Stay (ALOS) (2)	Number of Inpatient Days (1)*(2)
April	1440	4	5760
May	1860	3.5	6510
June	2250	3	6750
Average	1850	3.5	6340

2. Available Bed Days For the Month

Month	Days in a Month	Calculation	Bed Days
April	30	30 * 300 beds	9000
May	31	31 * 300 beds	9300
June	30	30 * 300 beds	9000
Average			9100

3. Bed Occupancy Ratio (BOR)

Month	IP Days (1)	Bed Days (2)	BOR = (1)/(2)*100
April	5760	9000	64%
May	6510	9300	70%
June	6750	9000	75%
Average	6340	9100	70%

The Occupancy rate 67% from April to May and 73% from May to June. This suggests the hospital bed capacity is 9000 over time. A closer examination of the data reveals that the average length of stay is 3.5, while the number of admissions is 1850. The average length of stay may be 4.9 because of greater efficiency in delivering health care, assuming no change in treatment mix being provided over the three months. This potential improvement provides a greater capacity to accept new patients, as can be seen from the three-month data. Thus, the 3.5 length of stay and greater occupancy are both contributing to the hospital's ability to serve more patients per month.

Workings

1. Average of 64% & 70% = 67%
2. Average of 70% & 75% = 73%
3. 4.9 = 9100/1850

Formulas

1. Inpatient days = Admissions x ALOS
2. Bed Days          = Number of beds x number of days of that period
3. BOR                   = (Inpatient days/ Bed Days)*100