 The 2009 pandemic caused hospitals around the country to make significant preparations in terms of hospital surge capacities , especially within the emergency department and among vulnerable populations . In many cases , hospitals were relatively successful in making sure that those patients most severely affected by the influenza strain were able to be seen , treated , and discharged in an efficient manner . A proper case @-@ study of the preparation , planning , mitigation , and response efforts during the Fall of 2009 is that of the Children 's Hospital of Philadelphia ( CHOP ) . For example , CHOP took several steps to increase the emergency department ( ED ) surge capacity response abilities through careful planning and mitigation efforts . To increase ED capacity and response , CHOP used portions of the main lobby area as an ED waiting room ; several of the region 's hospital @-@ based outpatient facilities were in use during evening and weekend hours for non @-@ emergency cases ; the ED 's 24 @-@ hour short @-@ stay unit was utilized to care for ED patients in a longer @-@ term capacity ; non @-@ board certified physicians ( in pediatric emergency medicine ) and inpatient @-@ unit medical nurses were utilized for ED patient care ; hospital units normally utilized for other medical or therapeutic purposes were transformed into ED patient rooms ; and rooms normally used for only one patient were expanded to at least a capacity of 2 
