Coalition Activities

Massachusetts Diversion Task Force

The Massachusetts chapter participated in a Diversion Task Force with the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the state medical society to promote educational programs and worked with a researcher about improving through-put by managing hospitals’ use of resources.

Oklahoma Coalition to Raise Awareness and Design a Trauma Diversion Policy

The Oklahoma chapter is loosely involved with the state medical society, working with the OK Health Care Authority to spread awareness to other medical directors and working with paramedics with the state’s largest EMS provider (Emergency Medical Service Authority) to design a trauma diversion policy.

Maryland’s Yellow Alert Task Force to Reduce Diversion and Crowding

Maryland ACEP and the EMS Medical Directors at MIEMSS have been discussing the crowding issue through a Yellow Alert Task Force (“yellow alert” is ED voluntary diversion status).  The TF is looking at cause-and-effect relationships and on best practices to reduce the diversion/overcrowding ED problem. (Maryland Hospital and EMS Emergency Department Overload Mitigation Plan available at http://www.miemss.org/YA_rev_Feb_022.pdf )

Arizona Task Force to Incorporate Diversion and Crowding in State Hospital Rules

The Arizona chapter worked with the state hospital association and other interested parties on a task force that rewrote the state’s hospital rules and incorporated issues of diversion and crowding.  The new rules went into effect in October of 2002.

Arizona Coalition to Address Shortage of Inpatient Pediatric Beds

The Arizona chapter worked with the state hospital association and the Greater Phoenix Pediatrics consortium to address the lack of inpatient bed capacity in pediatrics.  This Task Force, created after meetings with the governor’s office and the Department of Health Service, studied the issue and documented the pediatric bed shortage and its effects on crowding.  As a result, 75 new pediatric inpatient beds were added to the Phoenix area to ease the problem. A full report of the Pediatric Bed Task Force is available by e-mail from Todd Taylor, MD, FACEP at  tbtmd@cox.net .

Arizona’s Diversion Task Force

To address the diversion crisis, the Arizona chapter worked with the voluntary non-profit corporation that manages pre-hospital care on a Diversion Task Force.  The task force developed diversion guidelines and a Facility Saturation Assessment Tool to standardize the decision to initiate diversion among various hospitals.  The diversion guidelines are available at http://www.aems.org/PDF/Chapter%208%20Revised%207-04.pdf .  The Facility Saturation Assessment Tool is available by e-mail from Todd Taylor, MD, FACEP at tbtmd@cox.net .