Altered Standards of EMS Care - Planning for Severe Resource Shortages During Pandemics

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Hennepin County public Health staff worked with members of the County’s Emergency Medical Services Council to develop plans to keep ambulance service available during the heightened demand and limited resources of a severe pandemic. Planning partners included EMS, medical directors, first responders, 911 providers, public health, and hospitals. The plan is now event-ready for ambulance services throughout the seven-county region, which includes over half of Minnesota’s population. The plan meets a critical future need: it enhances cooperation throughout the Metropolitan area; it is ethical in both planning and allocation of services; the plan’s altered standards of care are innovative; and it was developed cost-effectively through sound planning practices.