From Data to Action: Connecting the Dots on Real-Time Health System Capacity

Over the past several months, I’ve been writing about different aspects of a challenge that touches every community in America: how we manage hospital and health system capacity in real time. Some posts focused on technology, others on policy, and still others on governance and partnerships. Each thread stands on its own, but together they tell a bigger story — one that points to where we need to go next. This post is about connecting the dots.

Technology and Policy Must Converge

We’ve proven that hospital capacity systems can be built. States like Oregon, Hawaii, and Delaware have demonstrated how technology can deliver real-time visibility into beds, ventilators, and other critical supplies. Vendors have systematically advanced the tools needed to power these systems.

But technology alone isn’t enough. Without clear policy direction, systems remain siloed. Federal initiatives like the NHSN Bed Connectivity Project show how data standards and national reporting requirements are converging — but unless we connect these efforts into a single framework, hospitals and states will still be left piecing it together on their own, often without success. And when the system fails, it is ultimately the patient who is left at risk.

The lesson is simple: policy without technology is paper, and technology without policy is noise. We need both to move forward.

From Pilots to Scale

During COVID, states stood up emergency systems overnight. Some endured; others faded as funding dried up. The reality is that pilots prove feasibility, but scaling requires sustained investment and governance.

Today, hospital strain continues: average U.S. hospital occupancy rates hover around 75–80%, but many facilities — especially rural and safety-net hospitals — routinely exceed 90% capacity during seasonal surges. Nearly one in three rural hospitals is at risk of closure in the next decade due to financial instability. These are not just statistics; they represent vulnerabilities in our healthcare infrastructure.

We are now at a moment of transition. Legislative vehicles like H.R. 2936 are in play, providing one path toward embedding real-time hospital capacity into national preparedness. Meanwhile, the H.R. 1 Rural Hospital Fund offers a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity to modernize critical access hospitals with infrastructure and technology that not only improves outcomes, but also builds efficiency and sustainability.

The question is no longer “can it be done?” The question is: how do we take this opportunity for a streamlined approach, rather than repeating a patchwork of disjointed systems?

Public–Private Partnerships Are the Only Way Forward

No single vendor, agency, or health system can solve this challenge alone. States bring local knowledge and relationships. Vendors bring technical platforms. Hospitals and health systems bring the operational expertise, and federal agencies bring funding and standards.

A true solution will require a consortium model that balances these roles, shares governance, and ensures no one entity controls the data. This isn’t theory; it’s the model that has allowed other industries — from finance to energy — to achieve interoperability at scale.

New Relevance: Emergency Preparedness 2.0

Why now? Because the stakes have changed.

Hospitals aren’t just full — they are vulnerable. Cyberattacks can cripple entire systems. Wildfires, hurricanes, and mass casualty events are testing local surge capacity. The NDMS (National Disaster Medical System) is straining to coordinate patient movement at scale. In this environment, the ability to see hospital capacity in real time isn’t just a public health issue — it’s a national security issue.

What we need is Emergency Preparedness 2.0: a readiness framework that treats hospital capacity as critical infrastructure, just like power grids, transportation, and defense supply chains.

Connecting the Dots and Moving Forward

The dots are already on the page:

• Technology platforms that work.

• Policy frameworks taking shape.

• States and vendors proving models on the ground.

• A growing recognition that preparedness requires data.

• Federal investment opportunities through H.R. 1 and beyond to tie it all together.

  
  

The challenge — and the opportunity — is connecting them into a coherent picture. That means aligning funding, governance, and partnerships to finally scale what we know works.

As Congress returns this fall and agencies prepare for the next budget cycle, we have a window to act. The systems we build now will determine whether we meet the next crisis with improvisation — or with resilience.

Call to Action

I’ll close with an invitation: if you’re working on these issues — in a hospital, a state agency, a federal office, or with a vendor — let’s connect. The urgency is real, but so is the opportunity. Together, we can take the progress of the last five years and turn it into the infrastructure we need for the next fifty. Schedule some time @ www.vanpeltcompany.com/book-a-time