Regional Medical Response to Hurricane Ike

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Regional Medical Response to Hurricane Ike
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The Region

• 18 Counties
• 177 cities
• 6.3 Million (27)
• 877,000 with disabilities (24)
• 120 hospitals
• 500 nursing homes

2006 and 2000 census respectively
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Known Challenges

• Regional Surge Capacity
• Healthcare evacuations
• Medical Special Needs evacuation
• Special Needs Sheltering
• Transportation
• Patient Tracking
• Multi-Regional Coordination

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New Challenges
Access
Electrical outages
MSN population
Oxygen dependant
Those who remained
Transportation
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Overcoming the Challenges
Regional Hospital Preparedness Council
Regional Hospital Preparedness Council
Catastrophic Medical Operations Center
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Regional Medical Operation Center

• Coordination and organization of movement of
  patients and medical special needs
• Facility Assistance
• Patient Tracking
• Presentation Trending
• Organization of Regional Public Health Issues
• Organization of transportation assets for patient
  movement
• Coordination of Mass Fatality Issues

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Coordinated Facility Evacuations/Closures
56 hospitals 220 nursing homes 60 hours
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Asset Management
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Forward Coordinating Element
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Alternate Care Sites
Refuge of Last Resort
MSN Shelter
Mega Shelters
Staging Areas
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Strike Teams

• Oxygen
• Fuel
• Water/Ice
• Dialysis
• Sheltering
• Welfare Checks with HPD and HFD

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Evacuee Tracking

• 15,000 individuals moved
• Hospitals, EMS and embarkation hubs
• No lost evacuees
• Unique identifier

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Repatriation

• Restoration of essential services
• Electricity
• Sewer
• Water
• Pharmacies
• DME/Home Health
• Hospitals/Clinics
• Social Services

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Simultaneous Coordination
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Lessons Learned

• Pre-staging assets closer to evacuating area
• Need for clear reporting structure
• Inclusion of HHS rep in CMOC
• Inclusion of home health and DME to planning
  efforts
• Staffing for the duration
• MSN Sheltering closer to evacuating areas
• Better education/identification of our Special
  Needs Population

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Remaining Challenges

• Integration of MOC
• Integration of entire regional jurisdictions
• Development of alternate transportation methods
• Statewide tracking system
• Ensuring priorities and missions are communicated
  up and down the chain
• Inclusion of all jurisdictions on WebEOC

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Contact Information
Lori Upton, RN BSN MS CEM Assistant Director
Emergency Management Texas Childrens
Hospital Executive Director Regional Hospital
Preparedness Council laupton_at_texaschildrens.org 8
32-824-5603 281-793-7659