Hospital case management : the monthly update on hospital-based care planning and critical paths
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When Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of Manhattan, Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn prepared in advance to handle an influx of patients evacuated from nursing homes and hospitals. Case management staff worked overtime in advance to discharge appropriate patients and free up beds. When evacuated patients came into the emergency department, the staff transferred stable patients to the hospital's own nursing homes and others with available beds, and admitted patients who met inpatient criteria. After the storm passed, case managers worked to discharge more patients to free up beds for injured patients and find placement for patients who presented to the emergency department but didn't meet admission criteria.