On Hospitals and Hurricane Preparedness

Tampa Bay has been home for over 32 years now and although I live in the beautiful State of Florida, that doesn’t make me a weather expert. I can certainly attest to the beautiful sunsets and gulf breezes that make it a fine place to live. Known as “the Sunshine State,” the Tampa Bay area is also the lightning capital of the world, and clearly, a favored destination of Hurricanes. Because I’m a Floridian and also in the healthcare profession, I know that there are, indeed, some important implications for staff and patients in facilities in Florida, but also in the many other coastal states where hurricanes are likely to approach.

We’re early in the 2008 hurricane season, coming out of our first month, which began June first and runs until November. Because our waters aren’t quite warm enough yet (the catalyst for hurricane formation), we haven’t had great tropical activity. YET. But make no mistake—some experts are predicting a rather interesting and active season.

The Joint Commission on Healthcare makes patient safety an imperative in all accredited institutions. Hospitals are required to prepare for disasters involving everything from responding to acts of terror, plane crashes, and yes, hurricane catastrophes. As the epicenter of all things in emergencies, it’s crucial that medical facilities plan tightly and consider worst-case scenarios, keeping patient care the foremost in their plans. It doesn’t take going back very far in memory to bring to mind the news stories of hospitals overwhelmed by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and several earlier storms (including some no-name storms) which shook up emergency rooms and drained staff resources.

Have you been through a disaster at your facility? Please feel free to comment.

I wanted to post a few website references for further information to those interested: The Joint Commission: http://www.jointcommission.org/ and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): http://www.fema.gov/ offer excellent resources for hospitals, as well as information for patients and consumers.

And finally, as another matter of interest, following are a list of this year’s Hurricane names. I see I’m not on the list...again...are you?

Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky

Wilfred

Be safe and have a great summer. And if you need some last minute coverage don't forget to give us a call..We would be glad to help you. Thanks.

Ralph E. Jordan
President and CEO