1. EMResource, Hospital Polling & Ambulance Patient Diversion
S-SV EMS MICN Course
Module 6
EMResource, Hospital Polling &
Ambulance Patient Diversion
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

2. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
EMResource
An online electronic hospital availability and polling tool used for the following:
Updating hospital status (required at least every 24 hours – typically at 8:00 am)
Census and patient receiving capability polling
MCI event polling
HAvBED polling
ED & Census polling
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

3. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
HAvBED Polling
‘Hospital Available Beds for Emergencies and Disasters’
Developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to rapidly assess hospital inpatient bed availability throughout the country
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

4. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
HAvBED Poll Worksheet
Used to collect data for entering into EMResource during a HAvBED poll
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

5. Available & Staffed Bed Definitions
‘Available Beds’:
Vacant, immediately available for patients, with staff to operate under normal circumstances
‘Staffed Beds’:
Licensed and physically available with staff to attend patient
Includes both available and occupied beds
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

6. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
ED & Census Poll
Allows real-time ED & hospital census assessment
Utilized during periods of system surge, when a hospital initiates ambulance diversion, or when a hospital declares an internal disaster
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

7. ED & Census Poll Worksheet
Used to collect data for entering into EMResource during an ED & Census Poll
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

8. Responding to Hospital Polls
When an event is created in EMResource, you will receive an audible alert and pop-up message requesting data for your facility
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

9. Responding to Hospital Polls
If your data is readily available, enter it in the appropriate categories and select ‘Save’
If you data is not available, you may click ‘Remind me in 10 minutes’ to silence the alert
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

10. Responding to Hospital Polls
To subsequently enter or update your data, click the applicable event in the top colored bar
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

11. Responding to Hospital Polls
Click the ‘keys’ icon next to your facility name to open the data entry screen
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

12. Responding to Hospital Polls
Click “Select All” to expand all categories
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

13. Responding to Hospital Polls
Enter your data and click ‘Save’ to report
If you did not click “Select All”, you will need to click each category to expand it
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

14. Hospital Diversion – Patient Surge
Ambulance patient diversion often causes significant impacts on the EMS system, patients and their family members, and has a high potential to negatively impact patient care
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

15. Hospital Diversion – Patient Surge
Diversion must only be considered when conditions exist that negatively and profoundly impact the hospital’s ability to provide safe patient care, and after ALL hospital diversion avoidance measures have been implemented
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

16. Hospital Diversion – Patient Surge
Diversion avoidance measures include:
Activation of HICS and internal surge plans
Increase in ED and/or other department staff
Review of mitigation attempts by admin. supervisors
Activation of backup patient care/diagnostic areas
Cancellation of elective surgical procedures (as appropriate)
Expedited patient discharges (as appropriate)
Patient transfers to other facilities (as appropriate)
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

17. Hospital Diversion – Other Causes
Diversion may also be necessary for the following:
CT scanner failure resulting in the need to divert patients with neurological signs/symptoms of stroke or head injury
Trauma or STEMI patient diversion
Critical diagnostic/treatment equipment failure, or
Trauma or STEMI director/designee determines that the hospital is unable to care for additional trauma or STEMI pts
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

18. Hospital Diversion – Other Causes
Diversion may also be necessary for the following:
Internal disaster
Unforeseeable physical or logistical situation/circumstance that curtails routine patient care and renders continued ambulance patient delivery unsafe
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

19. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
S-SV EMS Notification
S-SV EMS shall be contacted early, and be provided appropriate updates, when a hospital is experiencing a patient surge event that may result in the need to implement ambulance diversion
Notification should also include the submission of a completed Ambulance Patient Diversion form when necessary
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

20. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
S-SV EMS Notification
S-SV EMS must be notified prior to implementing ambulance diversion for a patient surge event, or as soon as possible for an internal disaster event
A completed Ambulance Patient Diversion form is required to be submitted prior to implementing ambulance diversion for a patient surge event - an updated form is required to be submitted every 3 hours for an ongoing diversion event
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

21. S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated 12-2018)
S-SV EMS Notification
Any of the following circumstances will result in denial of an ambulance patient diversion request due to patient surge:
Failure to submit an ‘Ambulance patient Diversion Form’
S-SV EMS determines that the requesting hospital has not taken appropriate diversion avoidance measures
S-SV EMS determines that the next closest hospital is unable to absorb the anticipated impact caused by approving the diversion request
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

22. Updating EMResource Status
Go to the EMResource main view screen
Click your ‘Facility’ status
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

23. Updating EMResource Status
Select the appropriate facility status
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

24. Updating EMResource Status
Input incident specific details in the ‘Comment’ section – do NOT leave this blank
Click ‘Save’ to complete/post status update
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

25. Ambulance Pt. Diversion Form
Follow contact and submission instructions on the form
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )

26. Diversion Cancellation/Resolution
Any of the following circumstances will result in cancellation of ambulance diversion:
If an additional adjacent hospital requests to initiate diversion due to patient surge
In the event of an MCI or declared disaster requiring patient distribution to the facility on diversion
A hospital will only be allowed to remain on diversion for a maximum of 6 hours, at which point they are required to re-open
S-SV EMS Agency MICN Training (Updated )