Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan 1;52 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S177-82.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciq035.

A survey of emergency department 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) surge preparedness--Atlanta, Georgia, July-October 2009

David Sugerman  1 , Kelly H Nadeau, Kathryn Lafond, Wendy Cameron, Karl Soetebier, Michael Jhung, Alexander Isakov, Ian Greenwald, Karen Neil, Stephanie Schrag, Alicia Fry
Affiliations

A survey of emergency department 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) surge preparedness--Atlanta, Georgia, July-October 2009

David Sugerman et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

During August through September 2009, a surge in emergency department (ED) visits for 2009 pandemic influenza A (pH1N1) illness occurred in Georgia, particularly among children. To understand surge preparedness and capacity, we obtained influenza-like illness (ILI) ED visit data from the Georgia State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) and conducted a retrospective, Internet-based survey among all 26 metro Atlanta ED managers with reference to the period 1 July-1 October 2009. SendSS detected a marked and progressive increase in mean monthly ILI visits from 1 July-1 October 2009, which more than tripled (from 399 to 2196) for the 2 participating EDs that cared for pediatric patients during this time. ED managers reported patient volume surges, resulting in space and supply limitations, especially at pediatric EDs. Most (92%) of the facilities had current pandemic influenza plans. Pandemic planning can help to ensure preparedness for natural and man-made disasters and for future influenza pandemics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Metro Atlanta mean monthly influenza-like illness (ILI) emergency department (ED) visits, 2007–2009. The dark shading represents the time period for seasonal influenza (December–March). Source: Georgia State’s Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS), which collects data on all ED visits for 14 of the 26 hospital EDs in Health District 3 (metro-Atlanta area), May 2007–October 2009. Average number of visits based determined by number of reporting hospitals by reporting month. One of the 3 metro-Atlanta pediatric facilities does not report data to SendSS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Emergency department manager perceptions of surge, July–October 2009. (N=26).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kazzi AA, Langdorf MI, Handly N, White K, Ellis K. Earthquake epidemiology: The 1994 Los Angeles Earthquake emergency department experience at a community hospital. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2000;15:12–19. - PubMed
    1. Chu D, Chen RC, Ku CY, Chou P. The impact of SARS on hospital performance. BMC Health Serv Res. 2008;8:228. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McCarthy ML, Aronsky D, Kelen GD. The measurement of daily surge and its relevance to disaster preparedness. Acad Emerg Med. 2006;13:1138–1141. - PubMed
    1. American College of Emergency Medicine Practice Resources. [Accessed on 13 October 2009]; Available at: http://www.acep.org/practres.aspx?id=29506.
    1. McManus J, Huebner K, Scheulen J. The science of surge: Detection and situational awareness. Acad Emerg Med. 2006;13:1179–1182. - PubMed

Publication types