A new surge capacity tool developed by Northeastern University Hospital can help hospitals determine their operational needs during a pandemic, including requirements for beds, ventilators, personal protective equipment, medications and staff.
The tool automatically generates results for 1- to 30-day projections, based on individual hospital and patient data. The tool is free to any health system worldwide and can be downloaded from the COVID models website. The model can be used in a number of ways to help hospitals prepare for and manage capacity concerns from COVID-like epidemics, including providing general information, informing operational decisions, and expediting significant concerns. The model can help answer questions such as:
- How many patients will a hospital have in the ICU each day, and how many are going to be ventilated?
- When should a hospital convert routine space to ICU or isolated beds?
- Given inherent variability (e.g., random lengths-of-stay), what is the probabilistic range of results a hospital might expect over the next week and month?
- When should a hospital enlist retired caregivers, primary care providers, and others in staffing routine healthcare acute care setting delivery needs?
For more information on tool, visit the AHRQ Web site.