Md. facilities get blanket clearance for field hospitals, 280 new beds

Twelve Maryland hospitals and two nursing homes have gained emergency clearance to add more than 900 new hospital beds to the state's collective capacity, in preparation for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients in need of acute care. Health facilities statewide are racing to meet Gov. Larry Hogan's charge to increase Maryland's collective hospital bed capacity by 6,000 amid the pandemic. In support of the effort, state health care regulators within the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) have…