Pediatric Hospital and Intensive Care Unit Capacity in Regional Disasters: Expanding Capacity by Altering Standards of Care

• 2007

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• Robert Kanter; John Moran
PMID: 17200275DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-1586

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This article discusses how hospitals can handle more patients during disasters by changing care standards. It uses a simulation to show that New York City hospitals could care for 250 children per million people with normal care. By lowering standards, they could manage 500 children, even if resources drop by 40%. However, intensive care units (ICUs) would still be too small for big disasters. The study suggests that while altering standards helps meet hospital capacity needs in emergencies, ICU space remains a problem when many critically ill or injured kids need help at once.

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Tags

Focus Areas: Natural Disasters; Violence

Audiences: Emergency Managers; EMS Clinicians; Physicians

Emergency Management Stages: Response; Preparedness (Prevention / Protection)

Collection: Disaster Research Literature Review

Keywords: Child; Child, Preschool; Critical Illness; Disaster Planning; Health Services Needs and Demand; Hospital Bed Capacity; Hospitals, Pediatric; Infant; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; New York City; Pediatrics; Quality of Health Care; Wounds and Injuries; Adolescent; Standard of Care

Institutions: State University of New York - Upstate Medical University

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