Planning for health care surges during disasters is crucial for hospitals to ensure they can effectively respond to sudden increases in patient volume. Disasters can overwhelm medical facilities–having surge plans in place allow hospitals to optimize resource allocation, manage staff and equipment efficiently, and maintain continuity of care for both surge and non-surge patients.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures…” – Benet Wilson
COVID-19 is challenging America’s health care providers in ways we never imagined. To support them in making difficult decisions during times of scarce medical supplies, California’s health care leadership has been developing guidance that will help frontline health care workers make some of the hardest decisions of their lives.
California Department of Public Health developed a tool for hospitals on general emergency response planning and related integration activities.
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On April 19, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the California SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Health Care Surge Crisis Care Guidelines. In a CHA members-only webinar, senior leadership from CDPH will review the new guidelines, provide insights into their development, and explain how they can inform real-time clinical decisions. Webinar details will be available in CHA’s Coronavirus Response newsletter and on CHA’s education web page later this week.
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CHA remains in close contact with state officials during the current surge of patients that is challenging the health care delivery system. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has published several All Facilities Letters (AFLs) that hospitals may find useful during the current patient surges.
Hospitals facing a sudden rise in emergency department patients may find it necessary to establish a surge tent for triage purposes.
Hospitals must have strategies in place to ensure the continuity of their operations, minimize disruptions, and manage increased patient loads in crisis situations. Hospital preparedness strengthens resilience and improves outcomes for both patients and the health care system. To support hospitals in their planning and response to disaster events, this collection of resources is organized […]
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Has the state of California released any guidance for hospitals on crisis standards of care?
In June, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued its California SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Crisis Care Guidelines: Concept of Operations/Health Care Facility Surge Operations and Crisis Care, providing a framework to help health care facilities plan for an overwhelming medical surge due to the pandemic. The guidelines include an overview of surge capacity and crisis care operational considerations, as well as a decision-making framework for allocating ventilators and pandemic patient care strategies for scarce resource situations.
Importantly, while the Guidelines provide information to support individual health care facilities or health system operations, CDPH makes clear that the Guidelines do not replace the judgment of operational management, medical directors, legal advisors, or clinical staff or consideration of other relevant variables and options. To assist hospitals as the winter surge continues to grow, CHA has prepared several resources that highlight the guidelines’ key concepts and planning considerations for allocating scarce medical resources during surge operations. These include:
CHA recommends that when hospitals implement the crisis care guidelines they notify the local CDPH district office as a way of communicating the change in operations at the hospital.
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The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has released a Health Advisory alerting providers of the increasing number of Candida auris (C. auris) cases reported in Southern California in recent months.
2024 Disaster Conference
This presentation delves into the critical issue of hospital surge and explores the various factors contributing increased patient volume, resource scarcity, and workforce shortages. Also discussed are the potential impacts of hospital surge on patient care quality, health care worker morale, and overall hospital operations.