Abstract
Hospitals have frequently been evacuated because of natural or man-made disasters. In this article, we identify elements to be considered when confronted with the possibility of hospital evacuation. Hospital evacuation may have a significant impact on the surrounding community and the overall population. When the patients in a hospital are placed at risk, hospital leadership often decides to evacuate the facility to safeguard the well-being of both patients and staff. Such a decision is not likely to be criticized. We present various considerations. The effect of evacuation on patients, hospital staff, family members, the community, and even the nation as a whole, as well as repercussions affecting potential patients should be integral to the decision-making process and parallel to the risk assessment.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 257-268 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Public Health Policy |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Decision making
- Emergency
- Hospital evacuation
- Resilience