Inova activates emergency plan due to surge of patients

In response to a significant surge in patient volume, which is straining hospital capacity, Inova Health System activated its internal emergency operations plan on Oct. 24.

The surge is primarily affecting emergency departments, due to an increase in the circulation of respiratory viruses and other illnesses.

Inova is standing up its Emergency Operations Center and Hospital Incident Command Centers, which are staffed seven days a week with a multidisciplinary team of clinical, infection prevention, emergency management, and other key team members.

The wait time is 78 minutes at the emergency room at Fairfax Hospital on Gallows Road and 129 minutes at the children’s hospital emergency room at that location, as of 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 24.

To handle the surge, Inova is constructing a temporary auxiliary screening unit outside the emergency department at the Fairfax Medical Campus. That unit could serve as a pre-triage location to separate patients based on their emergency medical needs and to help alleviate crowding inside the emergency department registration area. 

Inova encourages people to go to their doctor’s office if they don’t need to be seen immediately or to an urgent care facility. Inova also partners with DispatchHealth to provide medical care at home.

According to Inova, declaring emergency status allows hospitals “to better prioritize patient and team member safety, leverage operational efficiencies, and make decisions in a dynamic environment to better support the evolving needs of the community.”