Redistribution of Emergency Department Patients After Disaster-Related Closures of a Public Versus Private Hospital in New York City

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Lee ◽  
Silas W. Smith ◽  
Brendan G. Carr ◽  
Lewis R. Goldfrank ◽  
Daniel Polsky
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
Hospital Closures ◽  
Public Versus Private

AbstractSudden hospital closures displace patients from usual sources of care and force them to access facilities that lack their prior medical records. For patients with complex needs and for nearby hospitals already strained by high volume, disaster-related hospital closures induce a public health emergency. Our objective was to analyze responses of patients from public versus private emergency departments after closure of their usual hospital after Hurricane Sandy. Using a statewide database of emergency visits, we followed patients with an established pattern of accessing 1 of 2 hospitals that closed after Hurricane Sandy: Bellevue Hospital Center and NYU Langone Medical Center. We determined how these patients redistributed for emergency care after the storm. We found that proximity strongly predicted patient redistribution to nearby open hospitals. However, for patients from the closed public hospital, this redistribution was also influenced by hospital ownership, because patients redistributed to other public hospitals at rates higher than expected by proximity alone. This differential response to hospital closures demonstrates significant differences in how public and private patients respond to changes in health care access during disasters. Public health response must consider these differences to meet the needs of all patients affected by disasters and other public health emergencies. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:256-264).

scholarly journals New York State Public Health System Response to Hurricane Sandy: Lessons From the Field

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asante Shipp Hilts ◽  
Stephanie Mack ◽  
Millicent Eidson ◽  
Trang Nguyen ◽  
Guthrie S. Birkhead
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
New York State ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
System Response ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
York State

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct interviews with public health staff who responded to Hurricane Sandy and to analyze their feedback to assess response strengths and challenges and recommend improvements for future disaster preparedness and response.MethodsQualitative analysis was conducted of information from individual confidential interviews with 35 staff from 3 local health departments in New York State (NYS) impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the NYS Department of Health. Staff were asked about their experiences during Hurricane Sandy and their recommendations for improvements. Open coding was used to analyze interview transcripts for reoccurring themes, which were labeled as strengths, challenges, or recommendations and then categorized into public health preparedness capabilities.ResultsThe most commonly cited strengths, challenges, and recommendations related to the Hurricane Sandy public health response in NYS were within the emergency operations coordination preparedness capability, which includes the abilities of health department staff to partner among government agencies, coordinate with emergency operation centers, conduct routine conference calls with partners, and manage resources.ConclusionsHealth departments should ensure that emergency planning includes protocols to coordinate backup staffing, delineation of services that can be halted during disasters, clear guidelines to coordinate resources across agencies, and training for transitioning into unfamiliar disaster response roles. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:443–453)

scholarly journals Characterization of Carbon Monoxide Exposure During Hurricane Sandy and Subsequent Nor’easter

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Schnall ◽  
Royal Law ◽  
Amy Heinzerling ◽  
Kanta Sircar ◽  
Scott Damon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Atlantic City ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Poison Centers ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACTObjectiveCarbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas produced by fossil fuel combustion. On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy moved ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing widespread morbidity and mortality, $30 to $50 billion in economic damage, and 8.5 million households to be without power. The combination of power outages and unusually low temperatures led people to use alternate power sources, placing many at risk for CO exposure.MethodsWe examined Hurricane Sandy–related CO exposures from multiple perspectives to help identify risk factors and develop strategies to prevent future exposures. This report combined data from 3 separate sources (health departments, poison centers via the National Poison Data System, and state and local public information officers).ResultsResults indicated that the number of CO exposures in the wake of Hurricane Sandy was significantly greater than in previous years. The persons affected were mostly females and those in younger age categories and, despite messaging, most CO exposures occurred from improper generator use.ConclusionsOur findings emphasize the continued importance of CO-related communication and ongoing surveillance of CO exposures to support public health response and prevention during and after disasters. Additionally, regional poison centers can be a critical resource for potential on-site management, public health promotion, and disaster-related CO exposure surveillance. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:562–567)

Building a Public-Private Partnership to Enhance Laboratory Preparedness and Response in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reynolds M. Salerno ◽  
Jasmine Chaitram ◽  
Joanne D. Andreadis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
High Volume ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communication And Coordination

ABSTRACT The public health community has recognized that it cannot handle responses to all possible public health emergencies on its own. The public health sector has deep scientific expertise and excels at initial identification, complex characterization, and test development. The private sector has many resources and capabilities that can complement and augment the public health response. This is especially true in the clinical laboratory sector. Many commercial laboratories are designed for high-volume, high-throughput diagnostic testing in a way that public health laboratories are not. Significant steps have been taken since 2017 to improve the communication and coordination between public health and the private clinical laboratory community, especially during a response to a public health emergency. This paper describes the strong foundation that has been built for an improved clinical and public health laboratory response to the next public health emergency.

You're not alone: A public health response to immigrant/refugee distress in the current sociopolitical context.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (S1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Ford-Paz ◽  
Catherine DeCarlo Santiago ◽  
Claire A. Coyne ◽  
Claudio Rivera ◽  
Sisi Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Sociopolitical Context

Responsibility and Blame

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Sharfstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Health Training ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Sincere Apology

Issues of responsibility and blame are very rarely discussed in public health training, but are seldom forgotten in practice. Blame often follows a crisis, and leaders of health agencies should be able to think strategically about how to handle such accusations before being faced with the pain of dealing with them. When the health agency is not at all at fault, officials can make the case for a strong public health response without reservation. When the agency is entirely to blame, a quick and sincere apology can allow the agency to retain credibility. The most difficult situation is when the agency is partly to blame. The goal in this situation is to accept the appropriate amount of blame while working quickly to resolve the crisis.

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