581 Factors Influencing Patient Decision Regarding Transfer to Sister Community Hospitals for Capacity

Available inpatient and intensive care unit (ICU) beds at many hospitals, especially tertiary care centers, have often remained at capacity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A solution at one U.S. tertiary care hospital was to offer transfer of admitted patients from the emergency department to one of two nearby community hospitals in the same health system. These sister hospitals are not often at capacity and can care for patients without specific subspecialty needs. Increasing transfer of patients to these hospitals would allow for more capacity for patients with subspecialty needs at the tertiary care center.