Lessons learned from Chicago's emergency response to mass evacuations caused by Hurricane Katrina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Broz D ; Hershow RC ; Levin EC ; Mucha AP ; Pelzel D ; Persky VW ; Wong W
• Description:
  Objectives. We analyzed the response of the Chicago Department of Public Health with respect to its effectiveness in providing health care to Hurricane Katrina evacuees arriving in the city. Methods. Between September 12 and October 21, 2005, we conducted a realtime qualitative assessment of a medical unit in Chicago's Hurricane Victim Welcome and Relief Center. A semistructured guide was used to interview 33 emergency responders in an effort to identify key operational successes and failures. Results. The medical unit functioned at a relatively high level, primarily as a result of the flexibility, creativity, and dedication of its staff and the presence of strong leadership. Chronic health care services and prescription refills were the most commonly mentioned services provided, and collaboration with a national pharmacy proved instrumental in reconstructing medication histories. The lack of a comprehensive and well-communicated emergency response plan resulted in several preventable inefficiencies. Conclusions. Our findings highlight the need for improved planning for care of evacuee populations after a major emergency event and the importance of ensuring continuity of care for the most vulnerable. We provide an emergency response preparedness checklist for local public health departments. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Disaster Planning Emergencies Emergency Responders Occupational Health Public Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Disaster-planning Emergency-responders Emergency-response Emergency-shelters Public-health Questionnaires
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  99
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045569
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2009 Aug; 99(8):1496-1504
• Contact Point Address:
  Dita Broz, PhD, MPH, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 W Taylor St M/C 923, Chicago, IL 60612
• Email:
  dbroz2@uic.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3ee6098dde6598a7793fac4d66a2b3f3c55ed11431a4fe52989ec46123d9afa1c209d0741004a76dd0ab47d45e277f5f7e029716f544a0c8c18c349a27891887
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200942/cdc_200942_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 509.17 KB ]