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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

William E. Daniell, MD MPH, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195-7234, 206-685-3160, bdaniell@u.washington.edu, Glen Patrick, MPH, Office of Environmental Health Assessments, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47846, Olympia, WA 98504-7846, Chris Williams, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Project, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47890, Tumwater, WA 98501, and Wayne Turnberg, MSPH, Bioterrorism Epidemiology Coordinator, Department of Health, 5146 - 47th NE, Seattle, WA 98105.

Purpose: Characterize the planning, training, and response capacity of hospitals in Washington State for large-scale emergencies involving an outbreak of a highly communicable disease.

Methods: Comprehensive, cross-sectional survey of 96 hospitals in Washington State, conducted in 2002 by the State Department of Health.

Results: Statewide capacity was 13,179 licensed beds, of which ≥21% represented surge capacity. The emergency department ventilation system was shared with other parts of the hospital in about half of hospitals, and only 6% of hospitals had an isolable building. Only 6% of beds were in quarantine or isolation rooms. Only half of the hospitals (51%) had protective equipment suitable for Level C biohazard protection (total, 96 ensembles), but HEPA masks were widely available (total, 19,100). Most hospitals (89%) trained staff about their responsibilities in a large-scale emergency; however, only one-third had assessed staff or institutional competency. Presented findings will be stratified by hospital size: small (≤50 beds), medium (51-250 beds), and large (>250 beds).

Conclusions: Although capability and capacity enhancements have been made since this 2002 survey, the findings illustrate the need for continuous planning, resource allocation and maintenance, and training. In Washington—and probably all other states—it is conceivable that the capability and capacity of hospitals and regions to manage patients safely could be saturated during an outbreak of highly communicable disease.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the most prevalent shortcomings in hospital preparedness for disease outbreaks.
• Identify potential constraints on regional capacity to manage patients during a disease outbreak.

Keywords: Outbreaks, Public Health Infrastructure

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No