The Terrible Limbo Between the Emergency Room and a Hospital Bed

Patients in US hospitals are getting stuck in emergency departments for days while waiting for inpatient ward beds. This phenomenon, known as emergency-department boarding, is becoming increasingly common. A patient with esophageal cancer, for example, was kept on a hard stretcher for over 36 hours without proper care. He was eventually moved to an overflow area with inadequate personnel, where he received suboptimal care, including being served food he couldn't eat. The staff was overworked, and basic care such as changing soiled sheets was neglected. This situation highlights the need for improved hospital care and management.