Yixuan Li

Abstract

The Department of Homeland Security lists 19 groups of sectors as Critical Infrastructure Key Resources (CIKR) such as Water, Emergency Services, and Healthcare and Public Health (HPH). Protection of those interdependent sectors is of vital interest for the country in the event of disaster. Hospital infrastructure systems are basic HPH elements of the CIKR. Local hospitals deliver essential routine healthcare services as well as serving as frontline responders during non-routine disaster events. Currently, hospitals generally extend their routine healthcare activities for external community disaster preparedness and response services. This extension takes the form of coordination with other responders within the community. Under this condition, determining the hospital's role in the community disaster response is critical. This thesis evaluates the current external performance of a hospital in response to a community disaster and the degree of integration of hospitals with the community system during and after a disaster. Case studies of two hospitals in Western New York State, one a rural institution sample and the other an urban institution sample, are conducted with data collected through program review and structured interviews of the hospitals' staff and the Emergency Management Officers of each community and analyzed using context analysis. The analysis shows that rural hospitals are more critical to community recovery than urban centers; communication both internal and external to the hospital is key to effectiveness; and emergency planning is actually only a small part of response.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Disaster medicine--New York (State); Hospitals--Emergency services--New York (State)--Evaluation; Disaster relief--New York (State)--Evaluation; Emergency management--New York (State)--Evaluation; Preparedness--Evaluation

Publication Date

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Civil Engineering Technology Environmental Management and Safety (CAST)

Advisor

Schneider, Jennifer

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: RA645.5 .L5 2012

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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