Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Jun 2015
Redistribution of Emergency Department Patients After Disaster-Related Closures of a Public Versus Private Hospital in New York City.
Sudden hospital closures displace patients from usual sources of care and force them to access facilities that lack their prior medical records. For patients with complex needs and for nearby hospitals already strained by high volume, disaster-related hospital closures induce a public health emergency. Our objective was to analyze responses of patients from public versus private emergency departments after closure of their usual hospital after Hurricane Sandy. ⋯ However, for patients from the closed public hospital, this redistribution was also influenced by hospital ownership, because patients redistributed to other public hospitals at rates higher than expected by proximity alone. This differential response to hospital closures demonstrates significant differences in how public and private patients respond to changes in health care access during disasters. Public health response must consider these differences to meet the needs of all patients affected by disasters and other public health emergencies.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Jun 2015
Pediatric Disposition Classification (Reverse Triage) System to Create Surge Capacity.
Critically insufficient pediatric hospital capacity may develop during a disaster or surge event. Research is lacking on the creation of pediatric surge capacity. A system of "reverse triage," with early discharge of hospitalized patients, has been developed for adults and shows great potential but is unexplored in pediatrics. ⋯ The classification system has potential for an ethically acceptable risk-based taxonomy for pediatric inpatient reverse triage, including identification of those deemed safe for early discharge during surge events.