336 Impact of Emergency Department-Based Intensive Care Unit on Outcomes of Decompensating Boarding Patients in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Emergency department (ED) boarding continues to increase as ED volumes and severity of illness rise without a concomitant increase in hospital capacity. A 2018 American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Policy Statement defined a “boarded patient” as “a patient who remains in the ED after the patient has been admitted or placed into observation status at the facility, but has not been transferred to an inpatient or observation unit.” Patients may decompensate prior to transfer to an inpatient bed necessitating escalation of their level of care.