Emergency Preparedness

MNTrac Overview

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What is it?

MNTrac (Minnesota system for Tracking Resources, Alerts, and Communication) is a database-driven, password protected web application. The application has been designed specifically to track bed capacity, pharmaceuticals and resources (e.g., ventilators, personal protective and decontamination equipment) from all hospitals within the state to support surge capacity needs. Hospital bed diversion status, emergency event planning, emergency communication, and alert notifications are supported in real time.

The system provides:

Hospital diversion status tracking
Hospital bed availability
Resource tracking (e.g., ventilators, personal protective equipment)
Pharmaceutical tracking
Emergency alert and advisory notifications
Aggregate information from all hospitals statewide
Electronic reports
Scalability to conform to local, regional and state needs
Ability to match patients to bed availability
Resource Library
Emergency Communication and on-line conferences

What does the system do in an incident?

The system allows for inter-facility notification of mass casualty incidents and notification of alerts and hospital diversion status during an incident. Resource requests and resource matching can occur on-line during an incident. In addition, tracking of available beds automates the process for obtaining National Disaster Medical System bed counts requested by the Department of Homeland Security.

Real time communication through emergency chat and on-line conferencing will assist in improving collaboration and response times during an incident, bringing the appropriate partners (e.g., hospitals, EMS, local public health, and emergency management) together.

What is the role of MDH?

The Minnesota Department of Health will administer and maintain MNTrac, providing support to users. Implementation of MNTrac began January 2006 and will continue until all hospitals are trained on and using the system.

Who can I contact for more information?

Tammy Peterson
Office of Emergency Preparedness
Minnesota Department of Health
625 N. Robert St.
P.O. Box 64975
St. Paul, MN 55164-0975
(651) 201-5712
Tammy.Peterson@state.mn.us