The Emergency Evacuation of a Psychiatric Hospital

Sporty, Lawrence D.; Breslin, Linda; Lizza, Patricia

doi:10.1080/00224545.1979.9922680

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Patients expressed fear "of being left behind" and not relocated back to the hospital when the hurricane passed. Only 2 of the 12 patients required emergency psychotropic medication during the evacuation, but there is no baseline emergency medication record for this group of patients (Sporty et al, 1979). It is impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions from this study due to its evident limitations; however, it highlights the urgent need for more scientifically rigorous research in this field.…”

Section: Inpatient Care Studiesmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…One important preliminary finding from the review is that an individual's mental illness does not in and of itself preclude adaptive coping skills (Sporty et al, 1979;Stout & Knight, 1990). Many persons with SMI respond to disasters just as members of the general population.…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 1976 Hurricane Belle flooded a Staten Island psychiatric hospital that had evacuated its population just prior to the storm (Sporty et al, 1979). The relocation of the patients back to their original hospital occurred 16 hr later.…”

Section: Inpatient Care Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disaster Care for Persons With Psychiatric Disabilities

Person

Fuller

2007

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

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There is growing concern that the management of persons with psychiatric disabilities after disaster has been inadequate. Unfortunately, the literature is extremely limited, and empirical evidence on the best practices for addressing the needs of persons with psychiatric disabilities after disasters is sparse. A literature search of articles published in 3 widely used databases revealed only 12 articles on the topic. The 12 reviewed articles included persons with psychiatric disabilities after both natural disasters and acts of terrorism, both in close proximity to the disaster site and far away and in 3 different treatment modalities. All of the studies used clinically based samples. The available literature indicated that many persons with psychiatric disabilities demonstrate an ability to handle the stress of a disaster without decompensation from their primary illness. However, the literature also revealed that persons with severe mental illness (SMI) can experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and illness exacerbation after disaster. There is evidence that persons with SMI can be resilient in the short term when they are enrolled in an assertive community treatment program prior to the disaster; however, the outcomes for people with severe mental illness in other treatment modalities are unclear. Well-designed studies with clinical and population-based samples on disaster reactions of persons with psychiatric disabilities are needed for disaster psychiatrists and emergency planners to develop empirically based treatment guidelines for this population.in the law as state and local governments, any department or other instrumentality of a state or local government, and certain transportation authorities. Emergency services, including state and local emergency operations, cannot legally discriminate against individuals with disabilities (Jones, 2005). One of the most important roles of local government is to protect its citizenry from harm, including helping people prepare for and respond to emergencies (Jones, 2005). Making local government emergency preparedness programs accessible to people with disabilities is a critical part of this responsibility and is also required by the ADA (Jones, 2005). Therefore, it is necessary for state and local governments to include adequate response and recovery plans for the psychiatrically disabled population in their emergency planning. The first step in developing proper disaster treatment and response protocols is a thorough assessment of the unique needs and responses of this population during times of disasters.One way to operationalize the term psychiatric disability is to use a benchmark of severity known as severe mental ill-

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Section: Inpatient Care Studiesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disaster Care for Persons With Psychiatric Disabilities

Person

Fuller

2007

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

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“…The available literature shows that SMI patients tend to adjust well in the postdisaster period. Psychiatric inpatients showed no increase in psychiatric symptoms or behaviour problems in response to such situations as floods and earthquakes (4,5), and public health care system outpatients, many ofwhom suffer from SMI, responded similarly (1,2). In one study by Lachance and others, assertive community treatment (ACT) patients showed no increase in hospitalization for psychiatric reasons in the 3 months following Hurricane Hugo (4).…”

Section: Natural Disasters and Severe Mental Illnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Disasters and Service Delivery to Individuals with Severe Mental Illness—Ice Storm 1998

McMurray

Steiner

2000

Can J Psychiatry

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“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Of the 286 between 1971 and 1999, 275 were reviewed by Sternberg et al 8 There are 22 reported cases of complete hospital evacuation since 1950; of these, 1 occurred in Canada and 8 resulted from the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. 4,5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Of 43 reported incidents for which duration is known, only 12 evacuations lasted longer than 24 hours. 8 Eleven percent of evacuations in the series reviewed by Sternberg et al listed at least 1 casualty, and the deadliest reported hospital disaster occurred in 1971, when partial collapse of a California Veteran's Administration hospital claimed 49 lives.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%