ENA Supports Legislation to Address ED Boarding Crisis

Addressing Boarding and Crowding in the ED Act introduced in Congress

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the U.S., there are nearly 140 million patient ED visits each year, and emergency nurses ensure every single patient who walks through the door is treated and stabilized.

Boarding occurs when patients are held in the emergency department because there are no inpatient rooms available for them to be transferred to in other units in the hospital. Statistics show the problem is continuing to increase. In 2019, the average ED boarding time was 119 minutes compared to 2021 when it rose to 169 minutes.

Patient boarding can lead to longer wait times; increases in patient morbidity and mortality due to challenges faced by the emergency care team to provide the highest quality care; and is a contributing factor to violence in emergency departments – all of which is fueling job-related burnout among emergency nurses.

The Emergency Nurses Association has served as a leading voice for boarding solutions since 2017 when it first released its "Crowding, Boarding, and Patient Throughput in the Emergency Department" position statement. In July, the ENA Board of Directors approved revisions to the statement.

ENA's efforts toward boarding solutions include its support for The Addressing Boarding and Crowding in the Emergency Department Act (H.R. 2936/S. 1974) which seeks to directly address the ED boarding crisis by focusing on data tracking, supporting innovative care models and conducting studies to improve emergency care.

"Boarding is at crisis levels in many emergency departments throughout the country," said ENA President Ryan Oglesby, PhD, MHA, RN, CEN, CFRN, NEA-BC. "Addressing this issue is essential to improving patient care, increasing the efficiency of health care systems and helping nurses avoid additional workloads and burnout."

The ABC-ED Act would provide new opportunities for improving patient flow and hospital capacity by modernizing the infrastructure around hospital bed tracking systems, as well as implementing Medicare pilot programs to improve care transitions for those with acute psychiatric needs and the elderly. It also commissions a Government Accountability Office study to identify and evaluate best practices for tracking hospital capacity to more rapidly implement successful strategies that minimize boarding.

ENA praised Reps. John Joyce, R-Pa., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., as well as Sens. Chris Coons, D-Conn., and David McCormick, R-Pa., for supporting the legislation as a sign of their commitment to helping emergency departments run more smoothly so that patients receive the best care possible.

About the Emergency Nurses Association
The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With nearly 45,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines, and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

ENA Media Contact:
Morgan Wietecha
Media Relations Strategist
847.460.4038
[email protected]

SOURCE Emergency Nurses Association