Blackout 2003: Preparedness and Lessons Learned from the Perspectives of Four Hospitals

Abstract

Introduction:The blackout in North America of August 2003 was one of the worst on record. It affected eight United States states and parts of Canada for >24 hours. Additionally, two large United States cities, Detroit, Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio, suffered from a loss of water pressure and a subsequent ban on the use of public supplies of potable water that lasted four days. A literature review revealed a paucity of literature that describes blackouts and how they may affect the medical community.Methods:This paper includes a review of after-action reports from four inner-city, urban hospitals supplemented accounts from the authors' hospital's emergency operations center (emergency operations center).Results:Some of the problems encountered, included: (1)lighting; (2) elevator operations; (3) supplies of water; (4) communication operations; (5) computer failure; (6) lack of adequate supplies of food; (7) mobility to obtain Xray studies; (8) heating, air condition, and ventilation; (9) staffing; (10) pharmacy; (11) registration of patients; (12) hospital emergency operations center; (13) loss of isolation facilities; (14) inadequate supplies of paper; (15) impaired ability to provide care for non-emergency patients; (16) sanitation; and (17) inadequate emergency power.Discussion:The blackout of 2003 uncovered problems within the United States hospital system, ranging from staffing to generator coverage. This report is a review of the effects that the blackout and water ban of 2003 had on hospitals in a large inner-city area. Also discussed are solutions utilized at the time and recommendations for the future.Conclusion:The blackout of 2003 was an excellent test of disaster/emergency planning, and produced many valuable lessons to be used in future events.

Augmenting the Disaster Healthcare Workforce

“…With limited outside sources of prepared food coupled with long work hours, facilities should expect to feed staff 24 hours a day. 37 The most important principle is to make safety the first consideration-in all situations. A necessary part of the overall security system is to supply some type of identificationpreferably in a format that cannot be easily copied-to those volunteers who have authorization to enter the healthcare facility.…”

Health Impact in New York City during the Northeastern Blackout of 2003

“…6 Klein et al documented that while the power outage increased the utilization of hospitals' emergency services, the effective operation of hospitals was compromised by the loss of power. 7 Beatty and colleagues described the public health responses in NYC to risks posed by the power outage, such as spoilage of food and contamination and/or lack of water. 8 The increases in health service provider activity reported by these studies suggest an increase in health problems associated with the blackout, but only one study reported actual cases of illness.…”

Cross‐sector emergency planning for water providers and healthcare facilities

“…Other reviews of adverse effects on hospital operations during natural disasters have included discussions of the consequences stemming from loss of water. Researchers detailed the effect of the 2003 blackout in the northeastern United States on four inner‐city hospitals (Klein et al, 2005). They reported on hospital equipment and operations that could not function because of lack of water.…”