ANALYSIS OF THE SURGE CAPACITY OF A LOCAL HOSPITAL IN THE FACE OF PANDEMIC THREATS

As technology advances and nature becomes more unpredictable, hospitals need to focus on their response to specific threats and their capacity to handle them efficiently. Many studies have shown that due to underfunding, hospitals lack the basic size required to properly service populations. The purpose of this thesis is to build and analyze a model of a local hospital's emergency room operations under typical and surge conditions in terms of resource demand and utilization. The model will analyze emergency room bed capacity based on day-to-day operations and potential threats that could impact the surrounding area, thus creating a surge in bed capacity. This study shows where local resources may be under capacity and provides ways for them to improve their operations by planning a solid budget. Local community planners must understand the challenges and current limitations for their hospitals to receive assistance from state and federal funding sources. If planners do not grow their hospitals to coincide with their cities' population growth, they will continue to fail and provide increasingly inadequate care.Civilian, Department of the NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited