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Senate bill seeks oversight, staffing and bed-registry steps to reduce pediatric hospital overstays
Summary
Sen. Pam Bridal and hospital leaders described pediatric patients who remain in emergency departments or inpatient beds for weeks or months after medical clearance; SB 696 would staff state-operated residential treatment beds, require bed-registry participation, and create a pediatric-overstay coordinator in the governor’s office.
Senate Chair Pam Bridal presented Senate Bill 696, a package of measures aimed at reducing pediatric “overstay” patients—children who remain in emergency departments or inpatient units for extended periods after they are medically cleared for discharge because no appropriate placement is available.
Bridal told the committee of cases with stays measured in weeks and months and said the bill would take immediate steps: (1) direct the Maryland Department of Health to staff licensed but unstaffed state-operated residential treatment beds (17 beds…
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