Healthcare Magazine June 2015 | Page 11

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR THE MODERN ERA
staff members and their families .
According to Kevin Hammeran , senior vice president and chief operating officer during the period , “ The strengthened building has enhanced the hospital administration ’ s ability to recruit staff to serve during hurricanes . Many employees feel safer at the hospital during a storm than in their own homes . We also have eliminated barriers by providing on-campus shelter for family members of stormduty staff . Knowing their spouses and children are within the safe confines of the hospital gives peace of mind to those working through the storm .”
In 2005 , the hospital hosted medical evacuees and families who were displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma .
Looking ahead Given the current state of health care infrastructure resilience , how are future extreme weather events likely to affect health care delivery in the U . S .?
Most health care organizations have disaster mitigation or emergency operation plans , but not all of them provide organizational alternatives when the normal
Most health care organizations have disaster mitigation or emergency operation plans
daily movement of staff , patients , equipment , and supplies are compromised . The critical nature and interdependence of these
processes represent a separate category of vulnerabilities that need careful attention , states the report .
To withstand whatever the future holds , it ’ s time to fundamentally rethink how hospitals operate . Health care systems in the U . S . are larger and more complex than ever before . We need more societal resources to buffer the impact from these climate events . Part of that is making people healthier by focusing on preventative health care — because healthier people are more resilient to climate impact than unhealthy people — and the rest is using sustainable technologies to embed fortitude into hospital infrastructure and day-to-day operations .
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