Current Hospital Disaster Preparedness
- Amy H. Kaji, MD, MPH;
- Kristi L. Koenig, MD;
- Roger J. Lewis, MD, PhD
- Author Affiliations: Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Torrance, California (Drs Kaji and Lewis); The South Bay Disaster Resource Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance (Dr Kaji); and University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Orange (Dr Koenig).
- Corresponding Author: Amy H. Kaji, MD, MPH, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W Carson St, Box 21, Torrance, CA 90509 (akaji{at}emedharbor.edu).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, substantial resources have been devoted to improving disaster preparedness in the United States, with an emphasis on mitigating terrorist threats. Adequate preparedness can only be achieved with a comprehensive approach that connects local, state, and federal programs. At the local level, planning should include all critical disaster health care resources, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, alternate care facilities, public health departments, and emergency medical services systems.1
Although hospitals are only one component of a regional program for disaster management, they represent a critical link in the system. In 2002, the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) established the National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP)2 to improve the preparedness of hospitals. The program's priorities included improving hospital surge capacity, decontamination capability, and isolation capacity, as well as supplementing pharmaceutical supplies, and supporting training and education. …
