Assessing surge capacity expansion plan awareness and attitudes: A survey of Connecticut hospitals

This study aimed to ascertain levels of awareness and attitudes of healthcare professionals within four hospital personnel categories, regarding their facility’s surge capacity expansion plan. The exploratory descriptive study used a 14-question electronic survey to collect data from hospital personnel in four labour categories. A total of 292 hospital staff from 32 Connecticut hospitals completed the survey, including executive staff, mid-level management staff, incident command hospital staff and emergency planning contacts. The strongest levels of agreement were found to be: the need for an emergency planning contact, understanding surge expansion roles and responsibilities, and provision of enhanced training and heightened participation in drills and exercises. Statistical significance was found when comparing hospital personnel categories in seven of the 14 survey questions that related to time at hospital, understanding personal role in surge event, understanding staff role in surge event, participating in events to increase surge awareness, understanding alternative care facility roles and responsibilities, understanding incident command system (ICS) roles and responsibilities and the need for ICS training. Findings demonstrate that some personnel perceive that their institutions are sub-optimally prepared to expand surge capacity. Education and training are important factors that contribute to improving these perceptions and help guide institutional preparedness and response efforts.