More than four in 10 hospitals have seen staffing shortages limit their ability to discharge patients because of a lack of post-acute care, according to a survey provided exclusively to Axios by CarePort Health, a care coordination software company.

The big picture: Health care staffing shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt across the industry and are noticed by patients.

• Among the hardest hit are the facilities that fall on the spectrum of post-acute care.

Zoom in: This National Hospital Week survey is limited — it captured the responses of care coordination leaders at 71 hospitals and post-acute care providers — but offers a glimpse at the potential real-world impacts of shortages on the health care system.

• For instance, 86% of hospitals said COVID-19 made it harder to secure placement for discharged patients.
• 70% of respondents said hospital length of stay is increasing due to challenges discharging patients.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect this survey captured the responses at 71 hospitals and post-acute care providers, not 23.