ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hospital preparedness for infectious disease emergencies is imperative. METHODS: A 40-item hospital preparedness survey was administered to Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc, members. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to evaluate the relationship between hospital size and emergency preparedness in relation to various surge capacity measures. Significant findings were followed by Mann-Whitney U post hoc tests. RESULTS: Most hospitals have an infection control professional on their disaster committee, 24/7 infection control support, a health care worker prioritization plan for vaccine or antivirals, and nonhealth care facility surge beds but lack health care worker, laboratory, linen, and negative-pressure room surge capacity. Many hospitals participated in a disaster exercise recently and are stockpiling N95 respirators and medications. Few are stockpiling ventilators, surgical masks, or patient linens; those that are have Subject(s)
Civil Defense/statistics & numerical data
, Health Services Research
, Infection Control/methods
, Infection Control/statistics & numerical data
, Communicable Diseases/diagnosis
, Communicable Diseases/therapy
, Communicable Diseases/transmission
, Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control
, Hospitals
, Humans
, United States
