SPOTLIGHT: Disaster-proofing your hospital

If terrorism, avian flu, hazmat incidents or other calamities struck your community, would your hospital be ready to handle the challenge? According to a recent Institute of Medicine report, few hospitals are prepared. But there are strategies which can boost a hospital's readiness for disasters substantially. Dr. George Beranek, an emergency physician with Rockford Health System, suggests that hospitals are far more likely to manage disasters well if they plan collaboratively with other key players, such as health departments, emergency management agencies, fire departments and the police. Hospitals should include these parties in collaborative drills, as well, Beranek suggests. The bottom line, he argues, is that when catastrophes occur, hospitals should think of themselves as part of a disaster response system rather than facilities coping with the chaos alone. Article