The Minnesota State Capitol building in St. Paul. In the last week of the 2023 session, budget negotiations freed up $300 million to support nursing homes and $18 million to compensate hospitals. (Anthony Soufflé, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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"Boarding" patients in ERs and other hospital spaces because of a lack of available nursing home and mental health care beds has long been a problem in Minnesota and one that intensified during and after the pandemic.

The Legislature and governor have helped with the problem with an infusion of funding.

Minnesota hospitals recently reported nearly 14,000 instances this year in which patients were stuck in their emergency rooms or inpatient units because nursing homes or other step-down facilities couldn't or wouldn't take them, the Star Tribune reported.

Hospitals are now able to apply for $18 million in state compensation. The state funding for hospitals that have to hold patients longer than they should have to as well as funding incentives for nursing homes to accept high-need patients they might otherwise refuse will help alleviate the problem of people being stuck in hospitals when they don't need to be.

About 580 patients were boarding in Minnesota hospitals at any point in time this year.

The problem of hospitals — and jails — holding people who should be in a mental health facility continues to be a big problem that needs to be addressed, but the recent state funding helps with mostly elderly patients who need to be in a nursing home to recover from medical issues. As the population ages, hospitals are seeing more elderly folks with complex medical needs.

The funding to compensate hospitals and to provide incentives to nursing homes almost didn't happen. But in the last week of the session, budget negotiations freed up $300 million to support nursing homes and $18 million to compensate hospitals this year.

The average ER boarding delay lasted a day and a half, but some were longer. Mayo's Mankato hospital is scheduled to receive $379,000 because the average delay was 20 days for the 33 patients who got stuck in its ER.

The funding helps nursing homes accept people who shouldn't have to be boarded in ERs or other hospital rooms.

But the state and federal governments need to find ways to address the more serious need of providing more mental health beds and care for children and adults.

FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE MANKATO FREE PRESS