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Orange County Hospitals Fight to Meet Needs

Posted on: Friday, 19 August 2005, 00:01 CDT

Aug. 19--A more strict staffing rule and a lack of beds are straining Orange County hospital capacity, a report released Thursday said.

The report, written by the Center for Studying Health System Change, a nonpartisan group that studies health-care policies and systems, says hospitals have struggled for several years with staffing and bed shortages, but several factors have combined to weigh more heavily on the system: California's new state law mandating a nurse/patient ratio of 1-to-5, which took effect in March. Previously, the ratio was 1-to-6.

"The transition for some may have been difficult," said Judy White, medical-group administrator for Kaiser Permanente, which has one nurse for every four patients. The tougher rule comes at a time when competition for nurses is fierce. Some hospitals told the center that they had to close beds or units temporarily or divert patients because they couldn't comply with staffing ratios.

Hospital construction lags population growth. Since 2000, the county's population has grown 20 percent, but hospital construction hasn't kept pace. Some hospitals have expansion plans under way, such as St. Joseph Health System and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Kaiser is also expanding in southern Orange County with a new 150-bed hospital. But overall construction hasn't kept up with the county's growing number of residents. Also, Orange County lost the 162-bed Brea Community Hospital this year, further taxing the system.

The report's most current data show the county with 1.9 staffed hospital beds per 1,000 residents vs. an average of 3.1 staffed beds per 1,000 people in other metropolitan areas.

The center didn't address the effect of higher living expenses on attracting medical staff, but White said it's a major concern.

"We talk a lot about the shortage of nurses, but it's hard to get lab techs, respiratory therapists and nuclear-medical technicians," White said.

"Frankly, in Orange County, the cost of housing is so high it makes it hard to get people to come here." The center has conducted surveys for the past decade and issues a report on Orange County and 11 other metropolitan areas every two years.

BEHIND THE STUDY

The Center for Studying Health System Change is a Washington-based nonprofit organization founded in 1995 and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In March a team of researchers visited Orange County to study the area's health system. To view the entire report, go to: www.hschange.org/CONTENT/773.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Orange County Register, Calif.

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Source: The Orange County Register

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