Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters

Redlener, Irwin E.; Reilly, Michael J.

doi:10.1056/nejmp1213486

Cited by 90 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In addition, the presence of a distinctive core biofilm community suggests that monitoring of biological quality in the tap water cannot fully represent the risks in a DWDS. Thus, we recommend monitoring biofilms, especially as a precautionary measure in high-risk water supply systems that have experienced severe contamination, such as many distribution systems reported of sewage contamination after Hurricane Sandy (Redlener et al, 2012). Monitoring biofilms in such systems can provide early preventative detection of disease-causing agents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Core-satellite populations and seasonality of water meter biofilms in a metropolitan drinking water distribution system

et al. 2015

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Drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) harbor the microorganisms in biofilms and suspended communities, yet the diversity and spatiotemporal distribution have been studied mainly in the suspended communities. This study examined the diversity of biofilms in an urban DWDS, its relationship with suspended communities and its dynamics. The studied DWDS in Urbana, Illinois received conventionally treated and disinfected water sourced from the groundwater. Over a 2-year span, biomass were sampled from household water meters (n = 213) and tap water (n = 20) to represent biofilm and suspended communities, respectively. A positive correlation between operational taxonomic unit (OTU) abundance and occupancy was observed. Examined under a 'core-satellite' model, the biofilm community comprised 31 core populations that encompassed 76.7% of total 16 S rRNA gene pyrosequences. The biofilm communities shared with the suspended community highly abundant and prevalent OTUs, which related to methano-/methylotrophs (i.e., Methylophilaceae and Methylococcaceae) and aerobic heterotrophs (Sphingomonadaceae and Comamonadaceae), yet differed by specific core populations and lower diversity and evenness. Multivariate tests indicated seasonality as the main contributor to community structure variation. This pattern was resilient to annual change and correlated to the cyclic fluctuations of core populations. The findings of a distinctive biofilm community assemblage and methano-/methyltrophic primary production provide critical insights for developing more targeted water quality monitoring programs and treatment strategies for groundwater-sourced drinking water systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Core-satellite populations and seasonality of water meter biofilms in a metropolitan drinking water distribution system

et al. 2015

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“…The scale of impact of the latter was larger and consequently more widely discussed. [9][10][11] In both instances, our hospital, New York University Langone Medical Center (NYULMC), was evacuated.…”

Section: In 2005mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evacuation of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Sandy

et al. 2014

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NICU patients are among those potentially most vulnerable to the effects of natural or man-made disaster on a medical center. The published data on evacuations of NICU patients in the setting of disaster are sparse. In October of 2012, New York University Langone Medical Center was evacuated during Hurricane Sandy in the setting of a power outage secondary to a coastal surge. In this setting, 21 neonates were safely evacuated from the medical center' s NICU to receiving hospitals within New York City in a span of 4.5 hours. Using data recorded during the evacuation and from staff debriefings, we describe the challenges faced and lessons learned during both the power outage and vertical evacuation. From our experience, we identify several elements that are important to the functioning of an NICU in a disaster or to an evacuation that may be incorporated into future NICU-focused disaster planning. These include a clear command structure, backups (personnel, communication, medical information, and equipment), establishing situational awareness, regional coordination, and flexibility as well as special attention to families and to the availability of neonatal transport resources.

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“…During the storm, it was necessary to evacuate the Tish University Hospital in New York, where diesel generators totally failed. Patients were transported by ambulances to nearby hospitals (McCoy and Weise, 2012;Redlener, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Approach to Assessing the Preparedness of Hospitals to Power Outages

Brehovská¹,

Nešporová²,

Řehák³

2017

TRANSACTIONS of the VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Safety Engineering Series

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Within the secondary impacts of electricity blackouts, it is necessary to pay attention to facilities providing medical care for the population, namely the hospitals. Hospitals represent a key position in the provision of health care also in times of crisis. These facilities must provide constant care; it is therefore essential that the preparedness of such facilities is kept at a high level. The basic aim of this article is to analyse the preparedness of hospitals to power outages (power failures, blackouts) within a pilot study. On that basis, a SWOT analysis is used to determine strengths and weaknesses of the system of preparedness of hospitals to power outages and solutions for better security of hospitals are defined. The sample investigated consists of four hospitals founded by the Regional Authority (hospitals Nos. 1-4) and one hospital founded by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (hospital No. 5). The results of the study shows that most weaknesses of the preparedness of hospitals are represented by inadequately addressed reserves of fuel for the main backup power supply, poor knowledge of employees who are insufficiently retrained, and old backup power supplies (even 35 years in some cases).

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Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters

Cited by 90 publications

References 1 publication

Core-satellite populations and seasonality of water meter biofilms in a metropolitan drinking water distribution system

Core-satellite populations and seasonality of water meter biofilms in a metropolitan drinking water distribution system

Evacuation of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Sandy

Approach to Assessing the Preparedness of Hospitals to Power Outages

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