The Effects of Natural Disasters on Health Care Organizations

Natural disasters come in a variety of forms. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, tornados, epidemic disease outbreaks and more can take a serious toll on any population and have a tremendous effect on the health care organizations that respond. Many health care organizations face major challenges during natural disasters, and there are many different causes for those challenges.

Sudden Influx

• Perhaps one of the most difficult factors a health care organization has to deal with in the aftermath of a natural disaster is the immediate and massive need for emergency treatment. The sudden influx of patients to a facility and the need for emergency responders in many places at the same time puts a strain on the health care organizations in the local area.

  Generally a major disaster area will receive help from outside sources such as the Red Cross in the days following the incident, but the immediate need may have to be shouldered by the local organizations alone.

Damage to Facilities

• Another major effect of natural disasters on health care organizations is the damage that may be caused to the facility itself. Along with the sudden need for all possible medical resources is the possibility that some of the resources may not be available because of direct damage from the natural disaster, according to the Disease Control Priorities Project. Earthquakes, floods and other disasters can render part or all of a facility useless or unsafe for use.

Inadequately Prepared

• Although some areas are more susceptible to certain natural disasters, such as earthquakes along a fault line or tornados in the South, they still strike with little or no warning. When they happen, it is likely that a health care facility may not be completely prepared for what comes next.

  Emergency preparedness plans improve the chances that the organization will be able to respond effectively in the event of a natural disaster, but there are never guarantees when it comes to the magnitude of the event or the amount of need and damage that will occur.

Specialty Treatment Availability

• While storms, earthquakes and tsunamis are very devastating; another type of natural disaster is sometimes even trickier to deal with. Epidemic outbreaks of infectious disease are something that health care organizations must deal with quickly and efficiently to protect the rest of the population.

  When a familiar disease crops up in epidemic proportions in one area, the health care organization may or may not have the needed medicines or vaccines necessary to get it under control. The time that it takes to get the proper medications on site is critical and could mean the difference in thousands of people contracting the disease.

  In the event that an outbreak occurs and the disease does not have a vaccine or known treatment, the role of health care organizations becomes even more important. These organizations must work to treat the patients and protect themselves while labs attempt to figure out a way to stop the infection from spreading.