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Fostering Disaster Resilient Communities across the Globe through the Incorporation of Safe and Resilient Hospitals for Community-Integrated Disaster Responses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Joseph Albanese ,
Marvin Birnbaum ,
Christopher Cannon ,
Joseph Cappiello ,
Elaine Chapman ,
James Paturas  and
Stewart Smith
Joseph Albanese
Affiliation:
Radiation Biodosimetrist, Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Marvin Birnbaum
Affiliation:
President, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Madison, WisconsinUSA; Emeritus Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Christopher Cannon
Affiliation:
National Director, Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Cappiello
Affiliation:
President, Simulation Education Services, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, USA
Elaine Chapman
Affiliation:
Special Projects and Grant Development Manager, Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
James Paturas
Affiliation:
Deputy Director, Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Stewart Smith
Affiliation:
President and CEO, Emergency Preparedness and Response International, LLC
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Extract

Events due to natural and technological hazards result in damage to living beings and the natural and built environment. The high urban population density, level of development, and extent of poverty in many disaster-prone areas further exacerbate the cumulative impact of such catastrophes. Also, crises, including those created by earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, and tsunamis, have underscored the inability of hospitals to provide uninterrupted, urgently needed health services and maintain structural integrity. In many instances, deaths of hospital occupants were the direct result of collapsing physical infrastructure. In response and recognition of the need for collaborative efforts to mitigate the damages and loss of function, international public health, humanitarian, and relief organizations such as the Pan-American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Joint Commission International (JCI), and the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) have sponsored a series of global forums intent on developing guidelines for designing, constructing, and evaluating “safe and resilient” hospitals. The underlying goals of these guidelines are to protect the lives of patients, staff, and other hospital occupants, and ensure that hospitals continue to function during and after a catastrophic event.

Keywords

damagedisasterdisaster resilient communityhospitalloss of functionresilienceresilient hospitalresponsesafe hospitalsafety
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 385 - 390
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

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