A systems approach for resources management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Multi-agency perspectives from New England

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0546

Keywords:

COVID-19, systems modeling, resource distribution

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19 in the United States has overwhelmed local hospitals, produced shortages in critical protective supplies for medical staff, and created backlogs in burials and cremations. Because systemic disruptions occur most acutely at a local scale, facilitating resource coordination across a broad region can assist local responses to COVID-19 surges. This article describes a structured systems approach for coordinating COVID-19 resource distribution across the six New England states of the United States. The framework combines modeling tools to anticipate resource shortages in medical supplies, personnel needs, and fatality management for individual states. The approach allows decision makers to understand the magnitude of local outbreaks and equitably allocate resources within a region based on the present and future needs. This model contributed to determining material distribution in New England as the 2020 COVID-19 surges unfolded in the spring and fall seasons. Using a systems analysis, the model demonstrates the translation of anticipated COVID-19 cases into resource demands to enable regional coordination of scarce resources.

Author Biographies

Jeffrey C. Cegan

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Benjamin D. Trump

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

S. E. Galaitsi

US Army Corp of Engineers, Concord, Massachusetts

Matthew D. Joyner, PhD

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Kaitlin M. Volk

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Melissa A. Surette

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I, Boston, Massachusetts

Jonathan P. Garrett

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I, Boston, Massachusetts

Susan M. Cibulsky

US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Boston, Massachusetts

Gary Kleinman

US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Boston, Massachusetts

W. Russell Webster

Captain USCG (Ret.), CEM, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region I, Boston, Massachusetts

Igor Linkov

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi

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Published

07/01/2020

How to Cite

Cegan, J. C., B. D. Trump, S. E. Galaitsi, M. D. Joyner, PhD, K. M. Volk, M. A. Surette, J. P. Garrett, S. M. Cibulsky, G. Kleinman, W. R. Webster, and I. Linkov. “A Systems Approach for Resources Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Agency Perspectives from New England”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 18, no. 7, July 2020, pp. 209-23, doi:10.5055/jem.0546.