Standards and guidelines for healthcare surge during emergencies: roles to be played by hospital security.

In February 2008, California became the first state in the nation to issue comprehensive surge guidelines for healthcare during a catastrophic emergency. The guidelines were developed by the state's Department of Public Health (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/). They include coverage of the critical role to be played by hospital security in emergency preparedness and response. This article reprints, with permission of the Department, excerpts relating to security from the Hospital Operational Tools Manual.