Emergency Planning Resources for Hospitals

Hospitals play an essential role in planning for and responding to the needs of New Yorkers during a citywide public health emergency. Hospital administrators can find information, tools and resources to improve hospital mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery during emergencies.

General Planning for Disasters

Patient Surge

The ability of a hospital to care for more patients during a public health emergency is critical. This set of tools provides step-by-step instructions for assessing and documenting surge staffing, facility and supply needs. The toolkit also includes implementation strategies, timelines and forms that can be adapted to the size and services of any hospital.

Worksheets

Pediatrics

The following resources can help hospitals prepare to meet children's needs during a disaster.

Nursing Staff Training

Research conducted by the Health Department demonstrated a need for baseline training on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) incidents among hospital nursing staff. The department partnered with Columbia University to develop an awareness-level orientation/training approach comprising six curriculum modules, including five that are based on CBRNE events. This approach includes a 30-minute, self-paced online refresher training to support the initial train-the-training sessions.

For more information, email healthcareprep@health.nyc.gov.

Planning for Specific Scenarios

Burn, Trauma and Mass Casualty Events

The Integrated Explosive Event and Mass Casualty Event Response Plan Template (PDF) provides a framework for a hospital disaster response system that improves coordination and integration of the ED, ICU, Radiology, and Trauma Surgery when presented with an influx of patients. It coordinates the ICS response and outlines critical actions for each unit.

The New York State Department of Health's Regional Burn Centers and Trauma Centers receive patients and regulate care during an emergency.

Chemical Emergencies

The following documents provide recommendations and protocols to help hospitals prepare for chemical emergencies. They are only intended for discussion and development purposes.

Radiological Emergencies

Communicable Diseases

Providers can access tools and guidance documents designed to help health care systems identify, isolate, assess, transport and treat patients who have a suspected or confirmed special pathogen.

Additional Resources

More Information