Surge Capacity and Health System Preparedness: Surge Capacity

National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP)

Slide Presentation by Lt. Commander Sumner L. Bossler

On July 13, 2004,  Lt. Commander Sumner L. Bossler made a presentation in a Web Conference entitled Surge Capacity and Health System Preparedness: Facilities and Equipment.

This is the text version of Lt. Commander Bossler's slide presentation. Select to access the PowerPoint® slides (147 KB).

Slide 1

National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP)
Surge Capacity

Lt. Commander Sumner L. Bossler Jr.
Senior Public Health Analyst
Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Special Programs Bureau
Division of Health Care Emergency Preparedness
National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Branch

Slide 2

Overview

• Program initiated in 2002.
• $135 Million in 2002.
• $498 Million in 2003.
• 62 Awardees:
  • 50 States, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.
  • Cities of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
  • Virgin Islands.
  • Pacific Territories and Freely Associated Nations.

Slide 3

Priority Areas

• Administration.
• Regional Surge Capacity.
• Emergency Medical Services.
• Linkages to Public Health Departments.
• Education and Preparedness Training.
• Terrorism Preparedness Exercises.

Slide 4

Critical Benchmarks

• 16 Total Critical Benchmarks.
• Evidence based.
• Sentinel Indicators.

Slide 5

Minimal Levels of Readiness

• Developed for each benchmark.
• Serve, in some cases, as a phased-in approach to achieving the overall benchmark.
• Some minimal levels are benchmarks themselves.

Slide 6

Sentinel Indicators

• Developed for each benchmark.
• Will serve as a baseline for quantitative data.
• Asking for retrospective report with applications and yearly updates from then on.

Slide 7

Critical Benchmarks
Surge Capacity

2.1: Beds
2.2: Isolation Capacity
2.3: Health Care Personnel
2.4: Advanced Registration System
2.5: Pharmaceutical Caches
2.6: Personal Protective Equipment
2.7: Decontamination
2.8: Behavioral Health
2.9: Trauma and Burn Care
2.10: Communications and Information Technology

Slide 8

Critical Benchmarks
Surge Capacity

2.1: Beds
2.3: Health Care Personnel
2.6: Personal Protective Equipment
2.7: Decontamination

Slide 9:

Establish a system that allows the triage, treatment and initial stabilization of 500 adult and pediatric patients per 1,000,000 awardee jurisdiction (1:2000), above the current daily staffed bed capacity, with acute illnesses or trauma requiring hospitalization from a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRN&E) incident.

Slide 10:

Critical Benchmark #2.3: Health Care Personnel

Establish a response system that allows the immediate deployment of additional health care personnel in support of surge bed capacity noted in Critical Benchmark # 2-1.  The number of health care personnel must be linked to already established patient care ratios noted by the awardees Patient Care Practice Acts based on 24 hours operations.

This benchmark must describe how these personnel are recruited, received, processed and managed through the incident in accordance with the awardee system noted in CB #2.1.

Slide 11:

Critical Benchmark #2.6: Personal Protective Equipment

Each awardee must ensure adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) per awardee defined region, to protect current and additional health care personnel, during a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident.  This benchmark is tied directly to number of health care personnel the awardee must provide (CBM # 2.3) to support surge capacity for beds (CBM # 2.1).

Slide 12:

Critical Benchmark #2.7: Decontamination

Ensure that adequate portable or fixed decontamination systems exist for managing adult and pediatric patients as well as health care personnel, who have been exposed during a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive incident in accordance with the numbers associated with CBM # 2.1 & # 2.3.  

All decontamination assets must be based on how many patients/providers can be decontaminated on an hourly basis.  The awardee should plan to be able to decontaminate all patients and providers within 3 hours from the onset of the event.

Slide 13:

Contact Information

Sumner L. Bossler Jr.
Lieutenant Commander,
United States Public Health Service
Division of Health Care Emergency Preparedness
Special Programs Bureau
Health Resources and Services Administration
Office: (301) 443-1095
Fax: (301) 480-0334
E-mail: sbossler@hrsa.gov
Web site: www.hrsa.gov/bioterrorism/index.htm

Current as of October 2004

Internet Citation:

National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP): Surge Capacity. Text version of a slide presentation at a Web conference. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/btsurgefacil/bossltxt.htm

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