University of Chicago Medicine's $124 million plan to shuffle beds at two facilities is in question as regulators say the hospital already has more capacity than is justified under state standards, according to an article on the Chicago Business website.
In a recent report, the staff of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board found that the number of medical-surgical beds exceeds demand for inpatient services in the medical center's service area.
While U of C wants to maintain the 338 medical-surgical beds it currently operates, the report found that just 304 beds were justified by historic utilization patterns.
Increasing demand for inpatient beds bucks industry trends, experts say. Over time, the number of beds needed at a hospital usually decreases as technology and techniques improve.
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