Citation

Sternberg E, Lee GC. Prehosp. Disaster Med. 2009; 24(2): 95-107.

Affiliation

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214, USA. ezs@buffalo.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19591302

Abstract

During a disaster, victims with varied morbidities are located at incident sites, while healthcare facilities with varied healthcare resources are distributed elsewhere. Transportation serves an essential equilibrating role: it helps balance the patients' need for care with the supply of care. Studying the special case of New York City, this article sets out the healthcare transportation components as: (1) incident morbidity; (2) transportation assets; and (3) healthcare capacity. The relationship between these three components raises an assignment problem: the management of healthcare transportation within a dynamic and partly unpredictable incident-transportation-healthcare nexus, under urban disruption. While the routine dispatch problem can be tackled through better geographic allocation software and technical algorithms, the disaster assignment problem must be confronted through real-time, mutual adjustment between institutions. This article outlines institutional alternatives for managing the assignment problem and calls for further research on the merits of alternative institutional models.

Language: en