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In an exigency , few facilities are as critical as hospitals . But as Hurricane Sandy made sorely readable one year ago , hospitals and other health upkeep facilities are just as vulnerable to the ravages of a storm as any construction .
DuringHurricane Sandy , major medical institutions in New York City — such as Bellevue Hospital Center , New York University ’s Langone Medical Center and Coney Island Hospital — had to be evacuate after multiple electrical and mechanical systems failed .
Waves crash ashore near the Verrazano Bridge in Brooklyn, N.Y., ahead of Hurricane Sandy’s landfall on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.
One yr by and by , these establishment have had a fortune to value their performance before , during and after the storm strike . " We fared better than most , " said Loyola Princivil - Barnett , administrator of the Shorefront Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care in Brooklyn . " We made sure we were stock up to the wazoo . " [ On the Ground : Hurricane Sandy in image ]
construct for resiliency
The Shorefront Center has receive recognition from a number of experts for its achiever in weathering thestorm puncher that Sandy delivered — a noteworthy fact , give that the 360 - bed adeptness is place just a few yards from the Atlantic Ocean on Coney Island .
But Shorefront ’s resiliency was n’t a issue of luck : Because of its seaboard locating , the facility was built in 1994 " to meet and exceed the 500 - year floodplain by 3 foot [ 1 beat ] , " Princivil - Barnett told LiveScience . Although the parking garage is located at ground level , the vestibule is elevated above it . " Our building is build on piling , " she added . " It ’s 30 foundation [ 9 yard ] from our service department to the first - level lobby . "
Shorefront was so well prepared that it was able-bodied to aid other health care facility by take in their patients . " the great unwashed hail to us for everything under the sun , " Princivil - Barnett say . Even the local law and other emergency respondent came to the adroitness for coffee tree and other support .
' Out of commissioning '
About 2 international nautical mile ( 3 km ) away from Shorefront support Coney Island Hospital , a comprehensive 371 - bed medical heart with a large hand brake department ( ED),psychiatric - care facilityand nuclear - medicine mall .
Even though the hospital is farther inland than Shorefront , Coney Island Hospital fell victim to the devastation work by Hurricane Sandy ’s floodwaters . More than 220 patient role had to be evacuated , part because the hospital ’s ground - level exigency generator had to be shut off for several hours to prevent lasting terms from the implosion therapy that inundated the whole hospital campus — including the ED — under several inch of water .
Nonetheless , the hospital was able-bodied to assist as an pinch protection for about 60 displaced area house physician — include four people and two bounder deport by a constabulary gravy boat — according to a New York City report nickname " SIRR " ( Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency ) , which was commissioned by the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy .
One yr later , most of Coney Island Hospital is full operational , though there ’s still much work to be done . " If you were to go there today , you would still see part under grammatical construction , " Ian Michaels , public affairs director for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. ( HHC ) , differentiate LiveScience .
The psychiatric ED elbow room at Coney Island Hospital " is out of delegacy , " Michaels articulate , adding that those service of process are currently being addressed at the hospital ’s main male erecticle dysfunction infinite . Pediatric inpatient services , detox facilities and inpatient renewal also continue unavailable at the hospital . " Otherwise , Coney Island [ Hospital ] is back , and has been back for a strong flow of time , " Michaels said .
ready for the next violent storm
" There ’s been a flurry of action over the last 12 months not only to repair , restore , reconstruct and replace areas that were damaged , but also to be advantageously prepared for the next tempest , " Alan D. Aviles , president of HHC , said in a statement . " We have worked within the rule of thumb of Mayor [ Michael ] Bloomberg ’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency to create an in force design . "
It takes much more than solid buildings to abide up to a major hurricane , experts agree , and Shorefront start planning for the tempest days in advance . communicating , Princivil - Barnett said , is a decisive headache . " That ’s been a great part of our planning , " she enunciate . " We have a good communication structure . "
Princivil - Barnett and other team leader were prepared to usesatellite telephonesto communicate during the emergency , since ordinary cellphones may be inefficient in a blackout . But beyond technology , there are commonsense initiatives that help make communicating networks run smoothly .
Executive squad reinforcement
telephone set lists need to be update more often , to ensure that impinging data is " not from the Stone Age , " Princivil - Barnett say , and communication has to happen proactively with people inside and outside the insane asylum .
Princivil - Barnett stress that because all health guardianship facilities rely on international seller for things like fuel , report and pharmaceuticals , she needed to pass with marketer to make indisputable they were solid . " It help them , and it reserve them to help you , " she said .
And in any preparation endeavour — but particularly for disasters like Hurricane Sandy — it helps to have funding from the leaders of any system . " Our executive team have been taking , and are take , emergencies very seriously , " Princivil - Barnett said . " It ’s a matter of life story and expiry . "
