{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T02:14:55Z","timestamp":1789438495980,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"American Medical Association (AMA)","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JAMA Surg"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"abstract":"\n Importance<\/jats:title>\n As trauma care\u2013related demand continues to rise, the US trauma system\u2019s current utilization and ability to accommodate surges from mass casualty events or disasters remain uncertain. Understanding existing trauma bed occupancy and reserve capacity is essential for national preparedness.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n To assess the current occupancy and distribution of adult trauma-designated beds across US hospitals and evaluate the system\u2019s ability to absorb a sudden and sustained surge in trauma volume.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design, Setting, and Participants<\/jats:title>\n This cross-sectional study analyzed 121 weeks (January 2022\u2013April 2024) of facility-level bed availability and occupancy data from the US Department of Health and Human Services for 2027 hospitals with trauma center designation. Simulation modeling was conducted to evaluate bed capacity under various casualty influx scenarios, assuming a 10% allocation (n\u2009=\u20093610) of the 36\u202f101 adult-trauma designated beds in level I\/II centers nationwide.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Exposures<\/jats:title>\n Various casualty influx scenarios.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Main Outcomes and Measures<\/jats:title>\n Primary outcomes included mean weekly occupancy rates for adult inpatient and intensive care unit (ICU) beds by trauma center level and region, percentage of centers exceeding 80% occupancy for prolonged durations, and simulated bed deficits under sustained patient influx scenarios.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n Level I and II trauma centers consistently operated at high occupancy, exceeding 80% for inpatient beds and 75% for ICU beds across most regions. Nearly 80% of level I\/II centers in the South and West exceeded 80% inpatient occupancy for 75 weeks or longer. In contrast, level III and lower-level centers showed lower occupancy but notable regional variation. Simulation modeling revealed that at sustained influx rates of 1500 to 2000 patients per day, national trauma bed deficits exceeded 20\u202f000 beds within 45 days. Even modest influxes of 241 patients per day saturated all designated trauma beds within 90 days under dynamic length-of-stay assumptions.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions and Relevance<\/jats:title>\n The US trauma system, particularly its tertiary centers (level I\/II) are operating under sustained high occupancy with limited reserve capacity for patient surges. These findings highlight the urgent need for national trauma capacity planning, regional load-balancing mechanisms, and scalable infrastructure to enhance trauma system resilience.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1001\/jamasurg.2025.6406","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,4]],"date-time":"2026-02-04T16:30:42Z","timestamp":1770222642000},"page":"330","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Bed Capacity and Utilization at Hospitals With Trauma Centers"],"prefix":"10.1001","volume":"161","author":[{"given":"Pawan","family":"Acharya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Injury Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham"},{"name":"Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristan","family":"Staudenmayer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stanford Department of General Surgery, Stanford, 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