PBS - Activity 3.2.5 – Medical Surge

What is a medical surge?

• A situation where there are more patients than the hospital can treat

• An electrical overload in the power box at a hospital

• Someone who works to triage patients in the case of an emergency

• Number of patients beyond the average capacity that a hospital can care for

What is a surge capacity?

• A situation where there are more patients than the hospital can treat

• An electrical overload in the power box at a hospital

• Someone who works to triage patients in the case of an emergency

• Number of patients beyond the average capacity that a hospital can care for

When should you prepare a medical facility for an emergency?

• Respond to the emergency in the moment - you can't really plan ahead

• Create a disaster response plan before a disaster occurs

The physical structures that can be used in disaster response

• Infrastructure

• Conventional Surge Capacity

• Contingency Surge Capacity

• Crisis Surge Capacity

• Regional disaster response plan

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

a set of guidelines that describe the resources available to you and protocols for how to respond to situations

• Infrastructure

• Conventional Surge Capacity

• Contingency Surge Capacity

• Crisis Surge Capacity

• Regional disaster response plan

Using only limited additional space, staff, and supplies; typical “busy day” at the hospital

• Infrastructure

• Conventional Surge Capacity

• Contingency Surge Capacity

• Crisis Surge Capacity

• Regional disaster response plan

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-2

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

Overwhelms the hospital and forces them to use structures outside the hospitals such as tents, nearby buildings; staffing and supplies are based on whatever and whoever is available

• Infrastructure

• Conventional Surge Capacity

• Contingency Surge Capacity

• Crisis Surge Capacity

• Regional disaster response plan

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

Using hospital spaces that normally isn’t used to treat patients (conference rooms, break rooms) and staff who are credentialed, but may not be used to treating il or critically injured patients.

• Infrastructure

• Conventional Surge Capacity

• Contingency Surge Capacity

• Crisis Surge Capacity

• Regional disaster response plan

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-2

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

What happens when a hospital is over its capacity?

• transfer any non-emergent patients to other hospitals in the region that have capacity

• send non-urgent patients home

• cancel any medical procedures that are not immediately necessary

• They could do all of these

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3