Preparing for the Worst: Updating Your Patient Surge Plan

Whether a result of a multi-vehicle collision or mass violence, Emergency Physicians know that a short-notice patient surge is a when—not if—scenario. While many departments have a plan on paper, how confident are you that your plan is realistic, and when is the last time it was put into action, either in an exercise or real-world scenario? This presentation will highlight how to establish primary objectives in developing your plan, help you identify the needed hospital stakeholders that should be engaged to get your patient surge plan up to speed, and put some planning pitfalls on your radar as you work through the process. While no response is likely to be perfect, putting a plan in place and emphasizing the need for hospital-wide engagement is likely to improve efficient response and decrease stress and confusion in the event of a crisis event.