New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Chapter IV - Health Information Systems › Part 360 - Surge and Flex System › Section 360.3 - Hospital emergency Surge and Flex Response Plans

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Every general
				hospital (hereinafter, "hospital") shall adopt a detailed emergency Surge and
				Flex Response Plan (hereinafter, "plan") that, at a minimum, includes the
				following elements:
(1) Bed surge plan. The
				plan shall explain how the hospital will increase the number of current staffed
				acute care operational beds to a number set by the Commissioner, which shall be
				up to a 50% increase of such beds within seven days from the date of the
				declaration of the state disaster emergency. For the purposes of this Part, an
				"acute care operational bed" means a bed that is staffed and equipped with
				appropriate infrastructure such that it can be used to deliver health care
				services to a patient. The Commissioner may further define the type of acute
				care operational beds for a given state disaster emergency, which may include
				isolation beds, intensive care (ICU) beds, pediatric and/or acute care beds.
				The plan shall contain scenarios for increases of current staffed acute care
				operational beds in phased increments, detailing the associated considerations
				for PPE, staffing, and other supplies and equipment, including whether the
				hospital can meet those requirements using internal resources and capabilities,
				as well as intra-system load balancing and postponement of some or all
				non-essential elective procedures. These plans shall inform the Commissioner's
				directives, which shall be incremental and geographically tailored at the
				Statewide, regional, or community level, as dictated by infection rate
				data.
(2) PPE surge plan. The plan
				shall explain how the hospital will increase its supply of personal protective
				equipment (PPE) appropriate for use in a pandemic to achieve continuous
				maintenance of its required 60-day supply of PPE, pursuant to section
				405.11(g) of this
				Title. The plan shall list the contracted entities or other supply chain
				agreements executed by the hospital. Such plan shall further include, as
				appropriate, how the hospital will repurpose existing equipment, replenish the
				inventory from other areas of the health system, and establish cooperative
				agreements to obtain PPE to accommodate supply chain interruptions. A PPE surge
				plan may provide for hospital utilization of some, but not all, of the
				stockpile reserves during a State disaster emergency, provided that within 30
				days of the end of the State disaster emergency, the stockpile reserve is fully
				restored.
(3) Mass casualty plan.
				The plan shall explain how the hospital will receive and treat mass casualty
				victims, in the event of a secondary disaster arising from the interruption of
				normal services resulting from an epidemic, earthquake, flood, bomb threat,
				chemical spills, strike, interruption of utility services, nuclear accidents
				and similar occurrences, while addressing the continued need for surge capacity
				for the underlying state disaster emergency declaration.
(4) Staffing plan. The plan shall explain how
				the hospital will: identify and train backups for employees who may be unable
				to report to work during a pandemic; institute employee overtime protocols; and
				increase staffing by inter- and intra-system loan, cross-training, and
				volunteer programs, which would be operational on seven days' notice.
(5) Capital plan. The plan shall explain how
				the hospital shall ensure continuous operation of facilities and access to
				utilities, materials, electronic devices, machinery and equipment, vehicles,
				and communication systems. The plan shall ensure that the hospital routinely
				performs all required maintenance and peak load testing of its infrastructure
				systems, including: electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning
				(HVAC), and oxygen supply.