Optimization of Site Selection for Emergency Medical Facilities considering the SEIR Model

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the rapid construction and operation of Wuhan Vulcan Mountain Hospital and Raytheon Hospital have attracted positive responses from local and international observers. At the same time, it has also highlighted the urgency for the construction of emergency medical facilities for public health emergencies. Before construction, the practical location of medical facilities is the basis for improving the city's emergency management ability. Based on the classic susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered (SEIR) epidemic model and epidemic data in Guangzhou, we established a multi-stage time-delay SEIR epidemic model that is suitable for epidemic research in Guangzhou. According to the results of the model, the five areas with the highest number of infected patients were identified, which included Baiyun District, Panyu District, Haizhu District, Tianhe District, and Zengcheng District. We then centralized infected individuals at five demand points. Based on the distribution of these points and by combining the characteristics of the emergency medical facilities, we built and solved the set covering location decision model, and considered the economy, society, and environment as the starting points to optimize the site location. Finally, based on simulations, we concluded that appropriate site selection can increase the time required to reach the maximum number of patients and reduce the proportion of infected and exposed people by 11.3% and 1.11%, respectively. This is indicative of the effectiveness of the site selection model and the rational selection of facility points in this study. It solves the optimization problem of the location decision of emergency medical facilities for public health emergencies in China, and also provides some valuable references for site selection decisions of emergency medical facilities in other areas.