The speed and scope of the California wildfires tested hospitals' disaster plans, according to an article on the Fierce Healthcare website.
Today, there is more pressure for hospitals to be prepared even though many lack the resources and funding to upgrade their disaster plans.
“You never know how you’ll react until it comes your way … until fate taps you on the shoulder,” said Josh Weil, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa who led the hospital evacuation operation on Oct. 9.
At Santa Rosa, the plan was to jot down details from each displaced patient’s identification bracelet so that the hospital could later confirm that patients arrived at other hospitals. But with the fire coming fast, it became clear this would take too long, the article said.
On the fly, one staffer suggested taking photos of patient wristbands with smartphones. The hospital is now considering whether smartphones might be of greater use in future emergencies.
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