UI Hospitals and Clinics to add new short-term patient unit
The hospital is exploring new options to reduce wait times in the emergency department after a 40 percent increase from 2020-21.
University of Iowa faculty senate president Teresa Marshall speaks during the Board of Regents meeting at the Alumni Center at Iowa State University on April 6, 2021. The Board of Regents looked over requests and plans from the University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University, the Iowa school for the deaf, and the University of Iowa.
April 18, 2023
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics will open a new short-stay unit this month that addresses and shortens patients’ wait times in the emergency department.
In a presentation to the state Board of Regents, UIHC detailed that it has seen a 40 percent increase in the emergency department’s boarding hours from 2020-21, prompting new solutions to shorten patient wait time.
The new short-stay units will feature 30 private observation rooms in the John Colloton Pavilion. The unit will serve patients who require a time of 24 to 48 hours of stay and may utilize an inpatient bed.
RELATED: UIHC reports 22 percent increase in incoming patients for 2022
The population of patients will be inclusive of both medical and surgical needs. The presentation gave examples including chest pain, abdominal pain, back pain, fainting, and procedural.
UIHC identified three goals for the short-stay unit. First, the unit is intended to help decompress patients who are boarding in the emergency department. The second goal is to create an increase in inpatient capacity for higher acuity patients. Finally, the unit is intended to foster a care model focused on timely treatment as well as discharge to home.
The presentation will go before the regents Wednesday.