Medical surges—i.e., influxes of patients that exceed a hospital's normal operating capacity—put enormous strain on a hospital's ability to care for patients.

Hospital representatives told us that, during some COVID-19 surges, they didn't have enough staff, supplies, or space to care for patients. Health care coalitions—regional groups of health care and response organizations—provided help, such as extra supplies.

HHS funds coalitions as part of its efforts to help hospitals and others manage surges. It is also developing guidelines to help organizations deal with future surges, among other ongoing efforts.

What GAO Found

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of hospitals' abilities to evaluate and care for an increased volume of patients exceeding normal operating capacity, known as medical surge. All eight hospitals in GAO's review reported multiple challenges related to staff, supplies, space, or information. These are critical components for an effective medical surge response, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). All eight hospitals reported staffing challenges, such as a lack of staff to care for the increase in sick patients or staff becoming ill and unable to work, affecting hospital services. Hospitals took steps to address these challenges, such as supplementing staffing levels where possible or training staff on proper personal protective equipment use to prevent infection. Health care coalitions—groups of health care and response organizations in a defined geographic location supported by HHS funding—aided hospitals. For example, they helped coordinate patient transfers to balance hospital loads, obtain and distribute needed medical supplies, and communicate hospital needs to their states.

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