Citation

Rodríguez H, Aguirre BE. Front. Health Serv. Manage. 2006; 23(1): 13-23; discussion 25-30.

Affiliation

Disaster Research Center, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Health Administration Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17036849

Abstract

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provides a window of opportunity to address a frail and failing healthcare system. Katrina was the rare incident that disrupted the external systems supplying hospitals with key services and resources needed for the organizations to function; increased the number of patients, both present and expected, that required medical care; and affected directly the physical plants of the hospitals, challenging their functionality. Sorting through and gleaning useful lessons to increase the resilience of hospitals for this type of catastrophic incident will take time and will require system-wide public health planning and intervention. In this article, the authors focus on how hospitals prepared for, responded to, and coped with Katrina. They also provide a brief overview of the current situation and the healthcare crisis confronting hospitals and communities in the region affected by Katrina and discuss the impending need to develop disaster-resilient medical and healthcare systems. Planning, access to adequate resources, networking, effective communication and coordination, and training and education of doctors, nurses, technicians, and medical staff are essential in the development of a resilient healthcare infrastructure that will be able to provide the much needed services to populations affected by future disasters.

Language: en