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September 2005 - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many cities asked themselves whether they are really prepared for an emergency and examined the lessons learned from Katrina to build even better emergency response systems and to enhance preparedness in the health sector.
In New York City, Hurricane Katrina has heightened awareness of the issues that hospitals need to address, while highlighting what has already been accomplished. According to Dr. Thomas Frieden Commissioner, of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, "Public health is critical to public safety. With a state of the art surveillance system, top notch laboratories and a knowledgeable and dedicated staff, we are one of the best prepared cities in the country to detect and respond to public health emergencies. But there is always more we can do to be better prepared and this continues to be a key priority."
In New Orleans, despite the fact that all of the city's major hospitals had detailed evacuation and emergency plans, many were still caught unprepared for the catastrophic flooding that occurred. The nature and scale of any catastrophic need for health care, as well as the details of that need, will simply be impossible to anticipate with precision. For example, in many New Orleans hospitals, the ventilators, dialysis machines and heart-rate monitors failed, contributing to the deaths of a number of patients. In addition, hospital generators shut down. Some public hospitals didn't have the money to hire helicopter companies to evacuate patients. But coordination, planning, training, and the rehearsal of plans in advance, can create the foundation of preparedness for nearly any catastrophe.
In NYC, as elsewhere, substantial funding has been provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support hospital emergency preparedness. The Fund for Public Health in New York, Inc. (FPHNY) administers the Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Preparedness efforts under these grants have primarily focused on strengthening hospitals' preparations for an emergency, whether natural or man-made, but funds have also been distributed to community health centers and primary care providers to build stronger information linkages. To improve coordination, New York City has developed and engaged the health sector in table top drills, where emergency plans and health sector response to practical scenarios can be tested and improved not just on paper, but in practice.
Increasingly, New York City officials not only feel ready for an emergency, but are also ready to help others, particularly those affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Dr. Lloyd Sederer, NYC's Deputy Commissioner for Mental Hygiene, NYC set up a Welcome Center and Disaster Assistance Service Center for refugees from New Orleans. These centers provided emergency care as well as access to other benefits and services.
"NYC knows how to take care of its own, and knows how to respond to others in need," said Dr. Sederer. "What an extraordinary city we live in."
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