Hospital systems play a critical role in treating injuries during disaster emergency responses. Simultaneously, natural disasters hinder their ability to operate at full capacity. Thus, cities must develop strategies that enable hospitals' effective disaster operations. Here, we present a methodology to evaluate emergency response based on a model that assesses the loss of hospital functions and quantifies multiseverity injuries as a result of earthquake damage. The proposed methodology can design effective plans for patient transfers and allocation of ambulances and mobile operating rooms. This methodology is applied to Lima, Peru, subjected to a disaster scenario following a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. Our results show that the spatial distribution of healthcare demands mismatches the post-earthquake capacities of hospitals, leaving large zones on the periphery significantly underserved. This study demonstrates how plans that leverage hospital-system coordination can address this demand-capacity mismatch, reducing waiting times of critically injured patients by factors larger than two.
Sudden and violent disasters, such as earthquakes, represent significant challenges for health systems and services. This study shows the deficit of preparation and capacity to respond to a possible high-magnitude earthquake. The study also showed there are not enough resources to face mega-disasters, especially in large cities. Bambarén C , Uyen A , Rodriguez M . Estimation of the demand for hospital care after a possible high-magnitude earthquake in the City of Lima, Peru. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):106-111.
Hospital systems play a critical role in treating injuries and preventing additional deaths during disaster emergency response. Natural disasters hinder the ability of hospital systems to operate at full capacity. Therefore, it is important for cities to develop policies and standards that enable hospitals' continuous operations to provide patients with timely treatment and ensure urban resilience. Here, we present a methodology to evaluate emergency response based on a probabilistic model that assesses the loss of hospital functions and quantifies multiseverity injuries as a result of earthquake damage. The proposed methodology is able to design effective plans for patient transferal and allocation of medical resources using an optimization formulation. This methodology is applied to Lima, Peru, subjected to a disaster scenario based on the M 8.0 earthquake that occurred there in 1940. Our results show that the spatial distribution of health service demands mismatches the post-earthquake capacities of hospitals, leaving large zones on the periphery of Lima significantly underserved. This study demonstrates how emergency plans that leverage hospital-system coordination can address this demand-capacity mismatch, enabling effective patient transfers, ambulance usage, and deployment of emergency medical teams.
Results showed a low performance of the hospitals in case of an earthquake. The issue is due to the high seismic vulnerability of the existing structures. Given the importance of Lima city in Peru, structural and nonstructural retrofitting plans should be implemented to improve the preparedness of the health system in case of an emergency. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 6).
The earthquake that struck the central coast of Peru on 15 August 2007 was a disaster that mobilized international humanitarian assistance to address the needs of the affected people in the regions of Huancavelica, Ica, and Lima. It also was an opportunity to prove the effectiveness of regulations and procedures to facilitate the entry and distribution of donations and medical goods during a major emergency. In the first month after the earthquake, the national government approved new regulations that aimed to reduce waiting time while reducing the number of requisites required by customs. More than 5,500 tons of international donations arrived in Peru in a short period of time. Many donated medicines arrived unsorted, without an international non-proprietary (generic) name on the label, and some medicines did not have any relationship with the diseases that would appear in the aftermath of the event.
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