Crisis Standards of Care Declaration
Effective: Dec. 9, 2022, 2:00 p.m.
Like other hospitals across our region including Tillamook, Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties we are responding to a surge in patients in our emergency department needing hospital care. Under guidance from the Oregon Health Authority, we have activated crisis standards of care. This allows us to make changes, including adjusting staffing, in order to provide the best possible care.
What that means:
- A crisis management team is reviewing our resources, including staffing, and approving adjustments when necessary to ensure the best level of care possible.
- Your health care team will let you know if your care is impacted.
- There will be no impact to patient care or visitation.
If you have concerns about your care, please talk with your care team. Your patience and cooperation with our doctors, nurses and other staff make it easier for them to care well for the many patients who need us right now.
Additional information about crisis standards of care
Like other hospitals in Oregon and across the nation, we are experiencing a surge in patients requiring hospitalization. To maximize our resources, including staffing, to serve well as many patients as possible, we have declared crisis standards of care, which are allowed and defined by the Oregon Health Authority to help us better balance the demand and our capacity.
OHA allows this activation when:
- Patient care resources are severely limited.
- The number of patients needing hospitalization exceeds capacity.
- Transferring patients to other acute or critical care facilities is not an option.
At this time, the crisis of standards of care is allowing for adjustments in our staffing and allocate resources to continue to serve the patients who need hospital care.
OHA definitions of capacity
Oregon Health Authority’s Interim Crisis Care Tool describes a care continuum for hospitals experiencing a surge capacity during a disaster. OHA uses standard definitions from the Institute of Medicine:
Conventional capacity: Hospitals have the room, supplies and staff to provide normal daily patient care.
Contingency capacity: Temporary changes to spaces and care practices can be made to minimize shortages in staff, space and supplies.
Crisis capacity: Because patients exceed resources and transfers aren’t available, hospitals must make more significant changes known as crisis standards of care.
