Medical Surge is typically defined as the capability to rapidly expand the capacity of the existing healthcare system (long-term care facilities, community health agencies, acute care facilities, alternate care facilities and public health departments) in order to provide triage and subsequent medical care. The capability applies to an event resulting in a number or type of patients that overwhelm the day-to-day medical capacity.
As crucial stakeholders in emergency management, healthcare partners must be prepared to surge to meet the demands posed by a catastrophic disaster. C&A staff have supported emergency management programs for major healthcare providers, performed assessments of medical surge capabilities across jurisdictions, and built emergency management programs geared to expanding surge capabilities.
