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SD 2551

An Act relative to enhancing statewide hospital capacity coordination

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Bill Driscoll

The bill creates a real-time statewide Hospital Capacity Coordination Dashboard to monitor beds and capacity and support load balancing during emergencies.

House concurred
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Bill Summary · SD 2551

Summary of Senate Docket No. 2551 — An Act relative to enhancing statewide hospital capacity coordination

Status: House concurred; Referred to the Committee on Public Health
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Bill Type: Proposed bill (Massachusetts)

Purpose and intent

The bill creates a real-time, statewide Hospital Capacity Coordination Dashboard to improve the Commonwealth’s ability to monitor and respond to hospital capacity needs, particularly during public health emergencies or surge events. The dashboard aims to provide situational awareness of hospital capacity, bed availability, and related capacity metrics at local, regional, and statewide levels, and to support patient load balancing.

Key provisions

1) Creation of the Hospital Capacity Coordination Dashboard
- The Department of Public Health (DPH) must establish a real-time, statewide Dashboard to gather, report, and facilitate data on hospital capacity, capability, and available beds across Massachusetts.
- Data may include, at a minimum, hospital bed counts and related capacity indicators for local, regional, and statewide use. The Department may incorporate additional relevant data points as needed to monitor capacity and facilitate load balancing.

2) Governance, staffing, and funding
- The DPH, in partnership with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), must provide staffing and funding for the Dashboard’s development, maintenance, and overall operational costs, subject to future appropriations explicitly designated for this purpose.

3) Transfer of operations to a healthcare coalition
- Upon completion of the electronic tool and related governance/use guidelines, a healthcare coalition representing medical providers broadly will assume control of the Dashboard, manage its operations, and gain administrative control of the tool and the data produced.

4) Timeline
- Within 1 year after the act’s effective date, the DPH must complete the electronic Hospital Capacity Coordination Dashboard.

Who would be affected

  • State agencies: Department of Public Health; Executive Office of Technology Services and Security; Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
  • Healthcare providers and hospitals across Massachusetts.
  • A broad healthcare coalition representing medical providers (upon tool completion).
  • General public/patients who may benefit from improved capacity coordination and load balancing during emergencies.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The bill requires the dashboard to be completed within one year of enactment.
  • After completion, governance of the dashboard shifts to a healthcare coalition.
  • Legislative actions recorded: House concurred and referred to Public Health (as of February 27, 2025).

Notes

  • Related or similar proposals existed in prior sessions (e.g., House No. 2156 of 2023-2024).
  • Specific data privacy, interoperability standards, and security considerations are not detailed in the text provided, but would be important in implementation.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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