Stranded in the emergency department: an analysis of boarding trends in older adults in the United States
The trend of increased boarding has serious implications for patients, caregivers, and health systems. The 2025 CMS Age-Friendly Hospital Measure offers opportunities to improve processes and procedures to mitigate the negative effects of hospital boarding on older patients. We highlight opportunities to address this challenge, including ongoing quality improvement initiatives, bed prioritization algorithms, and alternate admission pathways.
Authors
- Cameron J. Gettel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6249-1023)
- Ula Hwang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3715-3073)
- Rohit B. Sangal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0435-7029)
- Mark Iscoe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4446-2488)
- Molly M. Jeffery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-6810)
- Scott M. Dresden
- Rachel M. Skains (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-3899)
- Arjun K. Venkatesh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8248-0567)
- Brendan M. Carr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1671-8650)
- Daniel S. Cruz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9722-2723)
- Natalia Sifnugel
- Elyssa F L Grogan
Institutions
- Northwestern University (US)
- Yale New Haven Hospital (US)
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (US)
- Birmingham VA Medical Center (US)
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center (US)
- Mayo Clinic in Arizona (US)
- Mayo Clinic in Florida (US)
- New York University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Health Affairs Scholar
- Published
- 2025-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxaf187
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Emergency and Acute Care Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.25
Funders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- National Institutes of Health
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality