Contingency and Crisis Capacities

This is a collection of Contingency and Crisis capacity resources. What are Contingency and Crisis capacities?

This collection of resources contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.

Contingency and then crisis capacity measures augment conventional capacity measures and are meant to be considered and implemented sequentially (CDC). They are recommended in the following sequence:

Conventional capacity include measures consisting of engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment (PPE) controls that should already be implemented in general infection prevention and control plans in healthcare settings.
Contingency capacity measures may be used temporarily during periods of expected shortages. Contingency capacity strategies should only be implemented after considering and implementing conventional capacity strategies.
Crisis capacity strategies are not commensurate with U.S. standards of care but may need to be considered during periods of known shortages. Crisis capacity strategies should only be implemented after considering and implementing conventional and contingency capacity strategies.

Key Facts:

When using these strategies, healthcare facilities should (CDC):
- Consider these options and implement them sequentially
- Understand their current PPE inventory, supply chain, and utilization rate
- Train healthcare personnel on PPE use and have them demonstrate competency with donning and doffing any PPE ensemble that is used to perform job responsibilities
- Once PPE availability returns to normal, promptly resume conventional practices

Where to Start:

Consult the CDC guidance on optimizing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/conserving.html
- Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/strategies-n95.html
- Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Eye Protection: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/strategies-eye.html
- Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Isolation Gowns: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/strategies-gowns.html
- Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Disposable Medical Gloves: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/strategies-gloves.html
- Summary for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE during Shortages: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pandemic/strategies-ppe.html
See NETEC's selection of tools on PPE (COVID-19) Use and Conservation.

Contingency and Crisis Capacity Resources:

Browse through the resources at the bottom of this page, under Collection Resources, to find strategies to help with reuse and extended use of supplies.

N95 Flowchart - are Crisis Capacity Strategies necessary?

Start with the flowchart below to see how to determine when contingency and crisis capacity strategies are necessary.

Collection Resources

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle N95 Respirators

Tags Contingency and crisis capacities, N95, Novel Respiratory Pathogen, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PPE

Creator: NETEC
Subject: Infection Control
Item Type: Guide
Date Last Updated: 2024-05-31
Description: Printable flyer infographic outlining options for reuse and recycling of N95 respirators in the case of a novel respiratory pathogen.
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
Decontamination and Reuse of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators: Where Do We Stand?

Tags Decontamination, Emergency Management, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PPE, Respirator

Creator: Lydia Cassorla
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Publication
Date Last Updated: 2020-10-15
Description: The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic created an extraordinary demand for N95 and similarly rated filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) that remain unmet due to limited stock, production constraints, and logistics. Interest in…
Conserving Supplies of Personal Protective Equipment in Healthcare Facilities during Shortages

Tags CDC, Contingency and crisis capacities, Emergency Management, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-EM, Supply Management

Creator: CDC
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Hyperlink
Date Last Updated: 2023-05-08
Description: Audience: These considerations are intended for use by federal, state, and local public health officials, respiratory protection program managers, leaders in occupational health services and infection prevention and control programs, and other…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
Disaster Available Supplies in Hospitals (DASH) Tool

Tags Contingency and crisis capacities, Emergency Management, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-EM, Supply Management

Creator: ASPR TRACIE
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Hyperlink
Date Last Updated: 2022
Description: The Disaster Available Supplies in Hospitals (DASH) Tool is an interactive tool 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)…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
N95 FFR Crisis Capacity strategies and flowchart

Tags 2019-nCoV, CDC, Contingency and crisis capacities, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Mask, Masks, N95, R-EM, R-PPE

Creator: CDC
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Guide
Date Last Updated: 2020-10-19
Description: The CDC flowchart attached to this page guides you through determining if an N95 FFR Crisis Capacity strategy is needed.Implementing Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) Reuse, Including Reuse after Decontamination, When There Are Known Shortages of…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
NETEC COVID-19 Webinar Series (10/11/21): Pediatric Surge Responses and Crisis Standards of Care

Tags 2019-nCoV, Children, Contingency and crisis capacities, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Critical Care, Epidemic, Pandemic, Pediatrics, R-SP, Surge, Treatment and Care

Creator: NETEC
Subject: Treatment & Care
Item Type: Webinar
Date Last Updated: 2021-10-11
Description: Join us Monday, October 11th, at 1pm EDT / 12pm CDT for the next NETEC COVID-19 Webinar Series presentation, Pediatric Surge Responses and Crisis Standards of Care. Join our presenters as they discuss the impact of the pediatric surge during the…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
Deconstructing the Treatment Effect of Remdesivir in the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial-1: Implications for Critical Care Resource Utilization

Tags 2019-nCoV, Contingency and crisis capacities, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Outcomes, R-Res&Pub, R-T&C, Therapeutics, Treatment and Care

Creator: Fintzi J, Bonnett T, Sweeney DA, Huprikar NA, Ganesan A, Frank MG, McLellan SLF, Dodd LE, Tebas P, Mehta AK.
Subject: Treatment & Care
Item Type: Publication
Date Last Updated: 2021-08-19
Description: The Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial-1 (ACTT-1) found that remdesivir therapy hastened recovery in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, but the pathway for this improvement was not explored. We investigated how the dynamics of clinical progression…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
NETEC COVID-19 Webinar Series (09/14/21): Town Hall Webinar: Pediatric Surge During COVID-19 Pandemic

Tags 2019-nCoV, Contingency and crisis capacities, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pediatrics, R-SP, Surge

Creator: NETEC
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Webinar
Date Last Updated: 2021-09-20
Description: Join us Monday, September 20th, at 12pm Eastern Time for the next NETEC Town Hall webinar series presentation, "Pediatric Surge During COVID-19 Pandemic: Current Trends and Future Implications." Join our panel of subject matter experts as they…
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.
Infection Prevention and Control and Environmental Health and Safety for COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Hotels

Tags 2019-nCoV, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crisis Standards of Care, Environmental Services, Example, Infection Prevention and Control, Isolate, Isolation/Biocontainment, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Quarantine, R-EM, R-PPE, SARS-CoV-2, Waste Management

Creator: NYC Health + Hospitals
Subject: Emergency Management
Item Type: Guide
Date Last Updated: 2021-01
Description: Infection Prevention and Control and Environmental Health and Safety for COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Hotels: Tailoring Existing Recommendations and Implementing Innovative Strategies Within the Hotel Setting
Example only: NETEC provides this item for reference purposes but does not endorse its content. Newer versions may be in place at the providing institution.
Safe and Proper N95 Storage

Tags 2019-nCoV, Contingency and crisis capacities, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Infection Prevention and Control, Just in Time training (JIT), N95, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PPE, Respirator, Respiratory Pathogen, Respiratory Protection

Creator: NETEC
Subject: Infection Control
Item Type: Video
Date Last Updated: 2020-11-20
Description: Paper Bagging: How to properly and safely store your N95. This video shows an animation of the proper technique for safely storing your N95. Created by Emory VME (https://med.emory.edu/ppe) and NETEC (https://netec.org/).
Conservation strategies: This resource contains recommendations facilitating conservation of equipment and supplies during contingency (expected shortages) and crisis (known shortages) capacities and should not be applied as guidance when conventional capacities are available.