Hosp Secur Saf Manage. 1999 Apr;19(12):5-9.
Last year, the city of New Orleans, LA, was spared what could have been one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall a major American city. In September, Hurricane Georges, which had caused hundreds of deaths and massive destruction in the Caribbean, was heading straight toward New Orleans. The vicious storm had the strength to potentially submerge the low-lying city, protected only by levees. Although New Orleans escaped serious damage when Georges veered off at the last moment, the threat posed by the hurricane resulted in a massive evacuation. More than 1.5 million people were ordered or urged to vacate the city and coastal Louisiana, though not all complied. About 10,000 people took shelter in the Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints, while thousands more filled other designated shelters in the city. At local hospitals, people took refuge in offices, waiting rooms, conference rooms, hallways, and any other space available. In this report, we'll give details on how six hospitals and health facilities prepared to meet the hurricane, how they fared during the emergency, and how their disaster plans worked. Three of them are covered in this month's issue.
去年,路易斯安那州新奥尔良市幸免于一场可能降临在美国主要城市的巨大悲剧。9月,在加勒比地区造成数百人死亡和大规模破坏的乔治飓风径直朝新奥尔良袭来。这场凶猛的风暴有能力淹没这座地势低洼的城市,而唯一的防护只有堤坝。尽管乔治飓风在最后一刻转向,新奥尔良逃过了严重破坏,但飓风带来的威胁导致了大规模撤离。超过150万人被命令或敦促撤离该市及路易斯安那州沿海地区,不过并非所有人都遵从了命令。约1万人在新奥尔良圣徒队的主场超级穹顶体育馆避难,另有数千人涌入该市其他指定的避难所。在当地医院,人们在办公室、候诊室、会议室、走廊以及任何可用空间寻求庇护。在本报告中,我们将详细介绍六家医院和医疗机构如何为应对飓风做准备,它们在紧急情况中的表现如何,以及它们的灾难应对计划是如何发挥作用的。其中三家将在本月刊中进行报道。