Citation

Paul JA, Lin L. Prehosp. Disaster Med. 2009; 24(4): 333-341.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19806558

Abstract

Hospitals provide life-saving functions and emergency assistance to communities when disaster strikes. Any damage to hospitals from a disaster, either structural and non-structural, can impair these capabilities. In addition, an inaccurate estimation of the treatment capacities available at hospitals in a disaster-affected region can severely affect the success of emergency relief plans. In this paper, the impact of facility damage on hospital operations is estimated using a generic simulation model. From the simulation results, parametric models are developed for estimating hospitals' capacities and patient waiting times that could be used by emergency response teams in making casualty dispatching/routing decisions.

Language: en