2022 Disaster Conference
This session was presented by Kaiser Permanente Northern California and provides emergency management personnel with an overview of hospital evacuation considerations when there are only minutes to hours to prepare. The presentation reviews the life cycle of an evacuation event including the Pre-Evacuation, Evacuation, and Post-Evacuation stages, with a focus on the preparedness and response actions in each stage.
Hospital plans for full or partial evacuation should incorporate pre-planning and address the incident command and management structure established for its operational area (community). In advance of an event, Hospitals should understand and incorporate local plans and protocols that are in place to support evacuation and should establish Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with other hospitals, as necessary, for transfer and mutual aid during an emergency.(See CHA Hospital Evacuation Plan Checklist)
This Hospital Evacuation Decision Guide was developed by AHRQ, the lead Federal agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to essential services.
Evacuation of a health care facility may be necessary following an emergency such as a facility fire or damage from a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flooding. The decision to evacuate a health care facility will be based on the ability of the facility to meet the medical needs of the patients. Immediate threats to life, such as internal fires or unstable structures, will require emergent evacuation, while other situations may allow for a planned and phased evacuation.
This checklist provides guidance on developing or updating hospital evacuation plans, including detailed information, instructions, and procedures that can be engaged in any emergency situation necessitating either full or partial hospital evacuation, or sheltering in place.
This presentation from Barton Health provides insights on response and business continuity plans in the event of a wildfire evacuation. Presenters share lessons learned from the full-scale evacuation of Barton Memorial Hospital and skilled-nursing facility in response to the Caldor Fire. The presentation reviews the logistical challenges of evacuating and repopulating a bi-state rural health care system, explore staffing and personnel challenges and considerations, and shares lessons learned.
AHRQ has released a model to help federal, state, and local emergency planners estimate the vehicles, drivers, road capacity and other resources they will need to evacuate patients and others from health care facilities in disaster areas.
2022 Disaster Conference – Best Practice Showcase
Shared by Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, this tool details the background, purpose, methods, results, and conclusions stemming from the August 2020 wildfire in Santa Cruz County that placed the hospital at risk for evacuation. The resource offers an inside look into the considerations weighed by the emergency response team, details how risk factors were analyzed, and shows evacuation methods considered as the event unfolded.
CHA, in consult with state agencies, has prepared a Hospital Repopulation after Evacuation Guidelines and Checklist to help hospitals identify identify operational and safety best practices and regulatory agency requirements that must be considered when repopulating after full or partial evacuation of general acute care hospital inpatient building(s).
2024 Disaster Conference
This session presents lessons learned from the Golden Hills Post Acute Care evacuation of 88 SNF residents and 22 sub-acute patients due to severe storm damage to their building. The session reviews how the facility coordinated with local SNFs, prioritized load leveling, and supported facilities receiving patients with Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDRO’s). Learn how Sharp HealthCare’s Coronado campus, having practiced full facility evacuations, effectively received evacuees, demonstrating exceptional compassion and resourcefulness.