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Examining New York City Hospitals’ Nonuse of Medical Volunteers in Disasters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2015

Marsha Williams ,
Sally Trued ,
Betty Duggan  and
Darrin Pruitt
Marsha Williams*
Affiliation:
Healthcare Facilities Preparedness
Sally Trued
Affiliation:
Bureau of Healthcare System Readiness
Betty Duggan
Affiliation:
New York City Medical Reserve Corps
Darrin Pruitt
Affiliation:
Health and Medical Planning and Response, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, New York, New York.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Marsha Williams, MPH, Director, Healthcare Facilities Preparedness, Bureau of Healthcare System Readiness, Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 42-09 28th Street, 6th Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101-4132 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective

To describe hospitals’ perceptions of the New York City Medical Reserve Corps (NYC MRC); clarify administrative, legal, and clinical obstacles to the use of NYC MRC volunteers; and identify possible strategies to overcome these barriers.

Methods

We administered an informational questionnaire to 33 NYC hospitals and conducted 2 facilitated discussion groups comprising 62 hospital representatives.

Results

The most commonly reported hospital barriers to the use of MRC volunteers were concerns about the clinical competence of the volunteers, their lack of familiarity with medical technology used clinically in a hospital setting, and the potential for institutional liability.

Conclusions

Although the NYC MRC has the potential to assist the health care system in the event of a disaster, NYC hospitals will need clarification of the clinical and legal issues involved in the use of MRC volunteers for patient care. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:391–395)

Keywords

voluntary workersemergency preparednessdisasterspublic healthemergency service, hospital
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 391 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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References

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