UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester received approval on Wednesday from the Commonwealth’s Public Health Council to add 91 inpatient beds between its University campus and Memorial campus.
The new patient beds will allow the hospital to decrease congestion and improve efficiency in its emergency department, UMass spokeswoman Debora Spano said in an email.
“This increase will … ensure that we can accept patients in need of acute inpatient care and place them in the care setting most appropriate for them,” Spano wrote.
UMass Memorial Medical Center has 749 licensed beds and 69 bassinets and is one of the region’s largest employers, with 7,069 employees as of Oct. 3, according to the hospital’s website. The medical center is a part of the larger UMass Memorial Health system, which is the largest employer in Central Massachusetts with 16,500 workers.
Services offered at the new medical center beds will include treatment for septicemia/severe sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory infection, pneumonia, heart failure, and pulmonary edema.
