Creating immediate surge capacity for critically injured patients
in a mass casualty incident (MCI) is critical in MCI response.
However, the current era of hospital overcrowding and emergency
department (ED) boarding has undermined the ability of the ED to
create surge capacity. Brigham and Women’s Hospital has leveraged
the buffer zone concept within their ED to temporarily and
rapidly increase capacity to care for critical patients during an
MCI. In this session, Dr. Goldberg will highlight Brigham and
Women’s Hospital’s experience with developing and implementing
buffer zones as part of their institution’s MCI plans and
highlight the lessons learned during the operationalization of
their buffer zone plan.
This tool is designed to assist hospitals in evaluating and
enhancing their surge capacity planning efforts. It provides a
comprehensive list of key components of surge planning, including
staffing, space, supplies, communication, patient care, quality,
training, and exercises.
The checklist helps hospitals assess their readiness to manage
increased patient volumes during emergencies or disasters and
identify areas for improvement in surge response capabilities.
Developed for hospitals, this tool contains information
on general emergency response planning and related
integration activities.
This manual also includes guidance for hospitals related to
increasing capacity and expanding existing workforce during
a surge, augmenting both clinical and nonclinical staff to
address specific healthcare demands, addressing challenges
related to patient privacy and other relevant operational
and staffing issues during surge conditions.
This guide also addresses the assets under a hospital’s control
that can be used to expand capacity and respond to a
healthcare surge.
Pediatric surge planning involves identifying knowledge gaps and
insufficiency of pediatric specific supplies. The purpose of this
Pediatric Surge Training Course is to help prepare general acute
care facilities to the challenges of pediatrics. The course is
designed for a target audience that has knowledge of disaster
planning.
The Emergency Preparedness Team at Rady Children’s Hospital
prepared this manual. This team includes physicians, nursing,
behavioral health, surgeon, safety supervisor, trauma, pharmacy,
security and disaster planning experts. The curriculum
development team conducted in-depth research of best practices
and other existing curricula to bring best practice.
The goal of this curriculum is to prepare hospitals and clinics
have the tools to respond more effectively in a disaster which
involves a surge of child victims.
Hospitals facing a sudden rise in emergency department patients
may find it necessary to establish a surge tent for triage
purposes.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPHi) issued guidance
to assist hospitals in preparing for tent utilization which
delineates requirements for obtaining written authorization for
tent deployment. It outlines key considerations for planning,
setting up, and operating surge tents to expand healthcare
capacity during times of increased patient demand.
Additionally, the California Hospital Association has published a
memo addressing the use of surge tents in hospitals. These
resources can aid in streamlining the approval process for
hospitals deploying surge tents.
All Skilled Nursing/Nursing Facilities are required by Federal
regulations to “have detailed written plans and procedures to
meet all potential emergencies and disasters, such as fire,
severe weather, and missing residents”.
California’s Health and Safety Code and California’s Code of
Regulations – Title 22, (T22) specify the “details” that are
required in the facility emergency plan.
To help facilities prepare for the external disaster plan review
during the annual survey process, DHS has developed an optional
self assessment.
