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Counting crises: US hospital evacuations, 1971-1999
Ernest Sternberg1, George C Lee, Danial Huard
1Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214, USA. ezs@ap.buffalo.edu
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
|October 28, 2004
Summary
Internal hospital hazards like fire and hazardous materials, along with human threats, are the leading causes of hospital evacuations. Natural disasters, though less frequent, can cause widespread disruption, necessitating multi-hazard mitigation strategies for disaster planning.
Area of Science:
- Disaster medicine
- Public health preparedness
- Healthcare facility safety
Background:
- Hospital evacuations are critical events impacting patient care and safety.
- Understanding the diverse range of hazards is essential for effective disaster planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the distribution of hazards responsible for hospital evacuations.
- To inform risk assessment and disaster preparedness strategies for healthcare facilities.
Main Methods:
- Retrieved hospital evacuation cases from newspaper and publication databases (1971-1999).
- Classified incidents by hazard type, cause, duration, and casualties.
- Included both partial and full evacuation scenarios.
Main Results:
- 275 evacuation incidents were identified, with an average of 21 per year in the 1990s.
- Internal fire (23%) and internal hazardous materials (18%) were the most common causes.
- Other significant causes included hurricanes (14%), human threats (13%), and earthquakes (9%).
Conclusions:
- Over 50% of evacuations stemmed from internal facility issues or human intruders.
- While natural disasters were less frequent, their impact can be widespread and simultaneous.
- Hospitals require multi-hazard mitigation strategies, and standardized incident reporting is crucial for national data collection.