The 4 S's of Disaster Management Framework A Case Study of the 2022 Pediatric Tripledemic Response in a Community Hospital

The 2022 pediatric respiratory virus surge ("tripledemic") challenged community emergency departments (ED) across the U.S., where young patients are traditionally stabilized and transferred to pediatric hospitals with intensive care capabilities. The authors describe the effects of pediatric patient surge on a Massachusetts community ED and how leadership leadership used a disaster management framework based on the 4 S’s (space, staff, stuff, and structure) to manage it.