• Douglas R Bish, Hussein Tarhini, Roel Amara, Richard Zoraster, Nichole Bosson, and Marianne Gausche-Hill.
• Prehosp Emerg Care. 2017 Jul 1; 21 (4): 503-510.

ObjectiveTo develop optimal hospital evacuation plans within a large urban EMS system using a novel evacuation planning model and a realistic hospital evacuation scenario, and to illustrate the ways in which a decision support model may be useful in evacuation planning.MethodsAn optimization model was used to produce detailed evacuation plans given the number and type of patients in the evacuating hospital, resource levels (teams to move patients, vehicles, and beds at other hospitals), and evacuation rules.ResultsOptimal evacuation plans under various resource levels and rules were developed and high-level metrics were calculated, including evacuation duration and the utilization of resources. Using this model we were able to determine the limiting resources and demonstrate how strategically augmenting the resource levels can improve the performance of the evacuation plan. The model allowed the planner to test various evacuation conditions and resource levels to demonstrate the effect on performance of the evacuation plan.ConclusionWe present a hospital evacuation planning analysis for a hospital in a large urban EMS system using an optimization model. This model can be used by EMS administrators and medical directors to guide planning decisions and provide a better understanding of various resource allocation decisions and rules that govern a hospital evacuation.

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