Variation of the occupancy of two medical units with the amount of sharing between the units.

Prediction of gain in occupancy and reduction of overflow effected by sharing beds between two previously disjoint medical units is related to the number of beds in each unit and to a variable number of beds that each unit makes available to the other when not in use. The methodology, here applied to two wards at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, is applicable wherever it is desired to estimate the effect of making beds interchangeable between wards or services.