Onondaga County's approach to alternate care and triage arranges for the operation of alternate care sites and transport of non-critically ill patients in a local jurisdiction. The protocols present a broad illustration of the process by which patients can be sorted by presence and severity of disease through a system of phone banks, triage centers, and transport to care in a hospital, alternate facility, or home. The processes require a substantial amount of staffing at triage hotlines and centers, and a jurisdiction would need to evaluate whether sufficient professional and volunteer help would be available to fill these roles. The concepts organized in this document may be adapted to the triage planning needs of local jurisdictions and private healthcare services, although they would need to add specific operational details to this basic plan.
