Welcome to the Disaster Available Supplies in Hospitals (DASH) Tool
Disaster Available Supplies in Hospitals (DASH) is an interactive tool designed by ASPR TRACIE, with support from Healthcare Ready, that can help hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff estimate supplies that may need to be immediately available during various mass casualty incidents (MCI) and infectious disease emergencies based on hospital characteristics. The DASH Tool recommends average par levels for specific supplies that acute care hospitals may need to have on hand to respond to a disaster in their community until resupplied. Recommendations are based on user inputs about the size of the hospital, risks in the community, regional role/designation of the hospital, and other factors.
The DASH Tool is comprised of several modules which, taken together, can provide hospitals a holistic view of the supplies needed to address various types of incidents. Each module also incorporates pediatric sizes and specific medication needs as appropriate to the incident. Most users will elect to complete one module or a segment of the module per sitting as inputs cannot be saved in the tool. Please read the instructions and refer to them as you complete each module.
Go to Learn More for additional details about the DASH Tool.
NOTE: User inputs cannot be saved in the DASH Tool. Please remember to download or share frequently (as described in each module's instructions) to save your inputs as you work in the DASH Tool.
Hospital Pharmacy Module
Estimates supplies of medications a hospital should have in its pharmacy to meet seriously injured patient needs for 48 hours following an MCI.
Personal Protective Equipment Module
Estimates minimum personal protective equipment (PPE) needed by hospital personnel managing patients suspected or known to be infected with a special pathogen.
Burn Supply Module
Estimates supplies needed to care for critical burn patients with an average 40% burn surface area for the first 48 hours after a burn incident.
Trauma Supply Module
Estimates supplies needed to care for seriously injured trauma patients for the first 48 hours after an MCI.
An Overview of the DASH Tool
This video can help you learn more about the DASH Tool modules and the user experience.
Terms of Use / Disclaimer
DASH is a voluntary planning tool designed to help hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff determine what supplies they may need during an MCI or infectious disease emergency in their community to ensure adequate supplies are available at the time of an incident. It does not require or dictate to hospitals what supplies they should have. The DASH Tool does not estimate staffing or space needs or address the systems planning necessary for an effective response. While based on subject matter expert recommendations grounded in historical or projected incidents, the DASH Tool is not designed to cover all situations for which hospitals should plan. The DASH Tool was developed for pre-incident planning and is not intended for use during a disaster.
While the DASH Tool is intended for use by acute care hospitals, facilities may consider sharing their results with their healthcare coalition and/or state to provide a more robust understanding of local and regional supply capacities. Hospitals may also consider discussing their results with supply chain vendors to inform future purchasing and strategies to ensure supply chain continuity.
DASH Tool recommendations are highly dependent on assumptions that can dramatically affect the outputs. Users should understand the implications of the assumptions and the caveats as described in the instructions. In some cases, though expert advice and review were the basis for the calculations, they may not reflect actual clinical practices; certain communities or facilities may have unique needs that the tool does not consider. The estimates may not account for all disasters; some incidents may exceed the predicted resources required. The DASH Tool should not replace other planning and facility-specific considerations or state or local government requirements. The authors, ASPR TRACIE, Healthcare Ready, and HHS/ASPR take no responsibility and bear no liability for any clinical care outcomes, provider injury/illness, or inaccuracies in or resulting from use of the DASH Tool. The DASH Tool reflects current knowledge of existing scientific guidance and operational experience; users should be aware that the evidence base for MCI and special pathogen response continues to evolve. All recommendations were current at the time of publication and vetted to the best of our ability.