IN & OUT: Twenty years ago, Orange...
IN & OUT: Twenty years ago, Orange County’s hospitals were teeming with patients. But no longer. The average occupancy rate here now is just 41% of licensed beds, says David Langness of the Hospital Council of Southern California. . . . One reason: Too many patients have no medical insurance. Also, Langness says, insurance companies are cracking down on longer hospital stays. But he adds: “Californians are getting healthier. People need less hospitalization.”
Sick Beds
None of the county’s five largest hospitals are close to full.
Beds Occupancy St. Joseph’s Orange 519 42% UCI Medical Center, Orange 493 62 Hoag Memorial Hospital, Newport Beach 421 59 St. Jude, Fullerton 347 61 Western Medical Center-Santa Ana 301 45
Source: Hospital Council of South California
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