Expect the Unexpected
By now, I am sure you've seen on the news about the wildfires that have been raging across southern California. So far, these deadly wildfires have spread across at least 57,000 acres and it has destroyed many buildings and houses along the way. Firefighters have been working tirelessly to contain these fires, with Oregon sending over their own strike teams to help California firefighters contain the spreading. It got to the point where they had to declare a state of emergency. The reason I bring up this unfathomable disaster is because hospitals aren't immune to wildfires. So what measures do they take? I've discussed the measures hospitals undergo in order to prepare hurricanes and/or mass shooting, but not in a situation like this. Given that there is no certainty as to how long the wildfire is going to spread and which direction the wind will blow- this can test even the most vigorous emergency communications plans.
On Monday, a psychiatric treatment facility called Vista Del Mar Hospital was forced to evacuate and the next day, the building was destroyed by the fire. This unfortunate incident has left 230 employees without a job for quite some time, and the 80 patients without a facility to go to. There is a huge need for this facility and now, they are forced to scramble to find them a temporary facility while they begin the construction of the newer buildings once they're in the clear. The hospitals they have evacuated to are now dealing with an influx of new patients, all while treating those who have sustained injuries from the fire. Not only that, people turn to hospitals to seek shelter and in an effort to keep their operations running smoothly, they have set up areas where non emergent people can wait until they place them in a shelter.
Back in October when wildfires occurred in Northern California, 130 patients were evacuated from Kaiser Permanente's Santa Rosa medical center and they were transported to Kaiser Permanente's San Rafael center (Nedelman, 2017). There were also patients who had to evacuate from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Center and were placed in neighboring hospitals who were not in danger from being consumed by wildfires. These two facilities were the largest hospitals in the Northern Bay Area community that were forced to evacuate their patients. Many healthcare workers are among the more than 100,000 people who have either been temporarily displaced or have lost their homes entirely (Johnson, 2017). Because of a large influx of patients being transported to neighboring facilties that, it had caused some facilities to experience a shortage of supplies. The CNO at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital had anticipated the hospital to serve as a temporary shelter for the residents in the area but because the wildfire was spreading quickly, she had to make a last minute decision to begin an evacuation. The evacuation itself was a first for the hospital and for the health system. The mobilization was coordinated from a command post at Sutter's Sacramento headquarters. It was a scenario the health system had trained for in drills, but never had been tested to this extent (Johnson, 2017).
It is a terrifying situation to find yourself in, due to the fact that once you're in a path of a wildfire that is spreading mile a minute, quick decisions have to be made. Especially since with this current wildfire, they had to close the 405 freeway which restricts hospitals from being able to transport their most needy patients efficiently. If your building is among the many structures that were ruined by the wildfire, it will take months before the hospital can be up and running again. Not only that, healthcare workers are personally affected and as they scramble to assist with evacuating their patients to other facilties, they have to face uncertainties about their loved ones and their homes. Over 200 hospital employees lost their homes and although the hospital reopened a few weeks later, they still had to deal with finding temporary housing and financial assistance for their employees.
Johnson, S.R. (2017). Wildfires strain california hospitals. Modern Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20171021/NEWS/171029982
Nedelman, M. (2017). Hospitals evacuated as wildfires ravage northern california. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/health/california-wildfires-hospitals-evacuation/index.html
Parvini, S., Sahagun, L., & Carcamo, C. (2017). Ventura fires rage, threatening communities both coastal and inland; body of woman found. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ventura-fire-20171206-story.html
On Monday, a psychiatric treatment facility called Vista Del Mar Hospital was forced to evacuate and the next day, the building was destroyed by the fire. This unfortunate incident has left 230 employees without a job for quite some time, and the 80 patients without a facility to go to. There is a huge need for this facility and now, they are forced to scramble to find them a temporary facility while they begin the construction of the newer buildings once they're in the clear. The hospitals they have evacuated to are now dealing with an influx of new patients, all while treating those who have sustained injuries from the fire. Not only that, people turn to hospitals to seek shelter and in an effort to keep their operations running smoothly, they have set up areas where non emergent people can wait until they place them in a shelter.
Back in October when wildfires occurred in Northern California, 130 patients were evacuated from Kaiser Permanente's Santa Rosa medical center and they were transported to Kaiser Permanente's San Rafael center (Nedelman, 2017). There were also patients who had to evacuate from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Center and were placed in neighboring hospitals who were not in danger from being consumed by wildfires. These two facilities were the largest hospitals in the Northern Bay Area community that were forced to evacuate their patients. Many healthcare workers are among the more than 100,000 people who have either been temporarily displaced or have lost their homes entirely (Johnson, 2017). Because of a large influx of patients being transported to neighboring facilties that, it had caused some facilities to experience a shortage of supplies. The CNO at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital had anticipated the hospital to serve as a temporary shelter for the residents in the area but because the wildfire was spreading quickly, she had to make a last minute decision to begin an evacuation. The evacuation itself was a first for the hospital and for the health system. The mobilization was coordinated from a command post at Sutter's Sacramento headquarters. It was a scenario the health system had trained for in drills, but never had been tested to this extent (Johnson, 2017).
It is a terrifying situation to find yourself in, due to the fact that once you're in a path of a wildfire that is spreading mile a minute, quick decisions have to be made. Especially since with this current wildfire, they had to close the 405 freeway which restricts hospitals from being able to transport their most needy patients efficiently. If your building is among the many structures that were ruined by the wildfire, it will take months before the hospital can be up and running again. Not only that, healthcare workers are personally affected and as they scramble to assist with evacuating their patients to other facilties, they have to face uncertainties about their loved ones and their homes. Over 200 hospital employees lost their homes and although the hospital reopened a few weeks later, they still had to deal with finding temporary housing and financial assistance for their employees.
Johnson, S.R. (2017). Wildfires strain california hospitals. Modern Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20171021/NEWS/171029982
Nedelman, M. (2017). Hospitals evacuated as wildfires ravage northern california. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/health/california-wildfires-hospitals-evacuation/index.html
Parvini, S., Sahagun, L., & Carcamo, C. (2017). Ventura fires rage, threatening communities both coastal and inland; body of woman found. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ventura-fire-20171206-story.html
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