Response to a Serious Flood: The St Joseph's Healthcare Experience

Water spread like liquid fire damaging more than 60,000 sq. ft. of clinical and support space, bringing the emergency department (ED) and operating rooms at St Joe's to an abrupt halt. Staff mobilized immediately, calling a hospital-wide Code Aqua (flood) and Code Green (evacuation) for the ED, and launching into action to save equipment and supplies worth millions of dollars. Our path to recovery has been difficult, but we have emerged stronger as an organization. The urgent necessity of rethinking care led to radical innovation, particularly in the flow and care of patients admitted through the ED.