The sudden or prolonged increase in patient arrivals to hospital Emergency Departments can cause overcrowding which adversely affects patient care. Healthcare leadership must anticipate and prepare for patient surge before it happens. They need to understand how much overcrowding will occur with each incremental increase in patient volume. This paper describes how simulation was used to determine the impact of various patient surge levels on three regional Emergency Departments. This paper also describes the impact of potential action items which the hospitals can take to mitigate their overcrowding.
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