Emergency departments nurse allocation to face a pandemic influenza outbreak

This study proposes a nurse allocation policy to manage patient overflow during a pandemic influenza outbreak. The objective is to minimize the number of patients waiting in queue to be treated for the virus while maximizing patient flow. The model is built using ARENA simulation software and OptQuest heuristic optimization to propose various combinations for the number of nurses needed for healthcare delivery. Results are compared with a basic setting that closely emulates the resources and components in a Veteran's Hospital. The proposed method significantly reduces the number of patients waiting in queue (between 4 to 37 percent on average) for the simulated zones. ARENA process analyzer was used to evaluate various scenarios for nurse availability. Sensitivity on the results for these changes was tested by increasing the flow of patients through the system.