Electronic Newsletter

September 2, 2005, Issue No. 177

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AHRQ News and Numbers

Special Issue

Guidance Available from AHRQ To Help Communities Reopen Former Hospitals to Care for Survivors of Hurricane Katrina

Public health officials and emergency response teams now have information available to help them reopen former (shuttered) hospitals to care for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The information includes lists of supplies and medications needed by stable medical/surgical patients and checklists to assess facility readiness, staffing needs and levels, and patient transport readiness. A new AHRQ report, Use of Former (Shuttered) Hospitals, gives emergency responders and public health officials useful, practical tools for opening shuttered hospitals when an emergency is underway. The report also will give surrounding communities that aren't immediately affected by the hurricane a way to assess their existing facilities to meet future needs.

The new report includes separate, fill-in-the-blank checklists for chief administrators, facilities experts, medical personnel, security experts, equipment and supply experts, and medical gas system verifiers to use in evaluating a facility. It also contains action checklists that help emergency planners assess and fulfill staffing needs, additional expertise required, and management needs. The report also contains a tool kit with a list of supplies and equipment needed for operation of a reopened facility. These supplies include such items as nutritional and feeding supplies, gloves and masks, bandages and dressings, and microbiology needs and syringes. The report also includes a preliminary, basic pharmacy list that details medications that would be needed for typical medically stable medical/surgery patients. Select to read our press release and select to read the report.

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Current as of September 2005

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Internet Citation:

AHRQ Electronic Newsletter. September 2, 2005, Issue No. 177. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/enews/enews177.htm

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