Emergency Department Ceiling Collapse: Response to an Internal Emergency

Area of Science:

• Medical Disaster Preparedness
• Hospital Management
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Hospital disaster resilience traditionally focuses on external threats.
• Internal disasters are more frequent in hospital settings.
• A ceiling collapse at VieCuri Medical Center highlights the need for internal disaster planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the response to an internal hospital disaster.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a temporary emergency department setup.
• To propose a transferable model for hospital disaster management.

Main Methods:

• Documenting the response to a ceiling collapse in the emergency department.
• Implementing a temporary emergency department in the acute medical unit.
• Assessing the time to resume standard emergency care.

Main Results:

• Standard emergency care resumed within 8 hours after the incident.
• A temporary emergency department facilitated rapid service restoration.
• The approach demonstrated effective internal disaster management.

Conclusions:

• Hospital disaster plans must encompass both internal and external events.
• Adapting hospital spaces, like using the acute medical unit, can mitigate disruptions.
• This model offers a practical strategy for enhancing hospital resilience to internal disasters.