The Application of a Hospital Medical Surge Preparedness Index to Assess National Pandemic and Other Mass Casualty Readiness

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This article describes the use and findings of the Hospital Medical Surge Preparedness Index (HMSPI) tool to improve the understanding of hospitals’ ability to respond to mass casualty events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For this investigation, data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Dartmouth Atlas Project, and the 2005 to 2014 annual surveys of the American Hospital Association (AHA) were analyzed. The HMSPI tool uses variables from the AHA survey and the other two sources to allow facility, county, and referral area index calculations. Using the three data sets, the HMSPI also allows for an index calculation for per capita ratios and by political (state or county) boundaries. In this use case, the results demonstrated increases in county and state HMSPI scores through the period of analysis; however, no statistically significant difference was found in HMSPI scores between 2013 and 2014. The HMSPI builds on the limited scientific foundation of medical surge preparedness and could serve as an objective and standardized measure to assess the nation’s medical readiness for crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other large-scale emergencies such as mass shootings. Future studies are encouraged to refine the score, assess the validity of the HMSPI, and evaluate its relevance in response to future legislative and executive policies that affect preparedness measures.

A method for detailed determination of hospital surge capacity: a prerequisite for optimal preparedness for mass-casualty incidents

“…Many attempts have been done to calculate surge capacity using mathematical models [ 11 ], scoring systems [ 12 ] or indexes based on broad surveys [ 4 , 13 ]. However, none of these methods gives the precise capacity of the individual hospital, since hospitals show a wide variation with regard to size, specialisation, economy, staffing, geographic localization and potential scenarios.…”

Psychometric development and validation of the Hospital Resilience Index

“…HRI was created based on our preliminary work related to hospital preparedness. 8, 9 Our study used data from 2018 to 2020 from the American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey 10 and RAND (research and development) Hospital Data. 11…”

“…Automated data retrieval based on existing databases would seem the more prudent strategy, e.g., the Hospital Medical Surge Preparedness Index (HMSPI). 8, 9…”

“…Automated data retrieval based on existing databases would seem the more prudent strategy, e.g., the Hospital Medical Surge Preparedness Index (HMSPI). 8,9 We propose here to expand the concept of the HMSPI to generate a Hospital Resilience Index (HRI), linking AHA survey and RAND corporation datasets. Our objective is to develop and psychometrically assess the Hospital Resilience Index for hospitals and healthcare facilities across the United States in relation to their capacity to function efficiently during stressful events such as mass casualty events, natural disasters or pandemics.…”

Exposure to a Virtual Reality Mass-Casualty Simulation Elicits a Differential Sympathetic Response in Medical Trainees and Attending Physicians

“…Ultimately, many health care facilities remain unprepared for disaster situations. [12][13][14] Virtual reality (VR) technology is an area of emerging interest in critical situation training and its use has already been described in a variety of spaces such as perioperative surgical planning, 15,16 medical and surgical education, 17,18 nursing education, 19 neurorehabilitation, 20 disaster planning, 21 and military readiness. 22 Additionally, several studies have suggested that VR training is more interactive and immersive than conventional training.…”