A 10-year analysis of hospitals’ preparedness for pandemics and other mass casualty events in the years prior to COVID-19 is warning that the nation’s health care system may not be adequately prepared for the next one. For the study, a team of researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland Medical Center used a surge index tool called Hospital Medical Surge Preparedness Index (HMSPI) to score data from more than 6,200 hospitals nationwide. The hospitals had partaken in the American Hospital Association annual surveys. The team also used census data to determine population estimates in...