The new New Orleans VA hospital was designed to be disaster resistant because healthcare design is evolving to deal with worsening weather events, according to an article on the Fast Company website.
Hurricane Katrina revealed the vulnerabilities of the area's healthcare facilities. In the New Orleans area, seven of 16 hospitals with acute care centers remained closed two years after the storm, the article said.
The new VA hospital's perimeter can withstand category three storms and the walls are hardened to resist blasts, ballistic assaults, and ramming.
The emergency room is on the second floor and vehicles access it via a ramp that also doubles as a boat launch.
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