American Hospital Directory - Profile Definitions and Methodology

Beds: General Medical/Surgical Beds are the beds used for routine care. Special Care Beds include Intensive Care Units, Coronary Care Units, etc. Numbers of staffed beds are taken from a hospital's most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, Part I, column 2). Cost report instructions define staffed beds as, "the number of beds available for use by patients at the end of the cost reporting period. A bed means an adult bed, pediatric bed, birthing room, or newborn bed maintained in a patient care area for lodging patients in acute, long term, or domiciliary areas of the hospital. Beds in labor room, birthing room, postanesthesia, postoperative recovery rooms, outpatient areas, emergency rooms, ancillary departments, nurses' and other staff residences, and other such areas which are regularly maintained and utilized for only a portion of the stay of patients (primarily for special procedures or not for inpatient lodging) are not termed a bed for these purposes."
Patient Days: The total number of patient days (for all payors) is taken from a hospital's most recent Medicare Cost Report (W/S S-3, part I, line 14, column 8).

Profile Definitions and Methodology