News Releases

The Center Leads Hospital Earthquake Evacuation Exercise

A recent evacuation exercise, led by The Center for Health Affairs’ Emergency Preparedness team, required local healthcare coalition agencies to collaborate and simulate an evacuation due to an earthquake that damaged six hospitals.

This evacuation exercise was a mandatory Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) grant requirement.

“The goal of this low-notice evacuation exercise was to find enough beds to meet 20 percent of each facility’s staffed bed capacity across a five-county region,” said Andrea Bishop, BSN, emergency preparedness project manager, The Center for Health Affairs. “Although physical evacuation was not required, participants had 90 minutes to identify who needed to be evacuated, where they would go and how they would get there.”

Healthcare coalition agencies that participated in this earthquake evacuation exercise included…

• Hospitals
• Public health departments
• Emergency management agencies
• Emergency medical services
• Skilled nursing homes
• Behavioral health facilities 
• Hospice locations and more

In December, this exercise will be reviewed by senior leaders to determine future improvements.

For more information on this evacuation exercise or other emergency preparedness efforts, contact us.