Southern California, Bay Area Officials Consider Hospitals’ Disaster Preparedness
Emergency preparedness officials in Southern California are considering the region's ability to respond to a massive-scale disaster that would displace hundreds of thousands of residents such as a major earthquake in the Los Angeles region, including how hospitals would respond, the Los Angeles Times reports (Bernstein, Los Angeles Times, 9/17). Bay Area medical facilities also "are scrambling to seismically upgrade," and "disaster drills among hospitals are being coordinated on every county level," the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18).
In Los Angeles County, there currently are 13 trauma centers, down from 22 in 1985. The state recently extended a 2008 deadline for the state's hospitals to comply with seismic safety standards. Currently, more than 900 hospitals statewide do not meet the standards (Los Angeles Times, 9/17).
So far, only 67 of the Bay Area's 484 hospital buildings are considered capable of remaining operational in the event of a massive earthquake. For example, San Francisco General Hospital "would probably collapse if the quake strikes before current replacement plans are completed, leaving local emergency rooms to fill in the gap of a full-fledged trauma center" the Chronicle reports (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18).
According to a recent study by the Division of Mines and Geology, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Newport-Inglewood fault could reduce by one-third the number of hospital beds in Los Angeles, render freeways unusable, significantly reduce flights at Los Angeles International Airport and leave major power plants inoperable for several days, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 9/17).
According to the Chronicle, scientists say a catastrophic earthquake has a 62% chance of striking the Bay Area within the next 30 years (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18).
Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County director of public health, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provided important lessons on the effects of a disaster on the public health system. He said a major earthquake in Southern California could disrupt basic sanitation service and cause physical injuries that could stress the state's trauma care centers (Los Angeles Times, 9/17).