Jimmy Guidry, MD State Health Officer & Medical Director

1. Jimmy Guidry, MD State Health Officer & Medical Director Hospital Disaster Preparedness: Past, Present and Future Public Health Systems Research Committee Wednesday, February 8, 2006 Washington, D.C.

2. Summary of accomplishments by DHH: • PRE-Hurricane Katrina and Rita: • Opened with DSS and DHH staff and supplies 7- Special Needs Shelters • Established Triage lines to assist special needs evacuees to make decisions about leaving with their families, reporting to special needs shelters as a last resort or seeking shelter or care at hospitals. • Accepted 150 special needs evacuees in Baton Rouge from the Superdome prior to storm. • Assisted with equipment and staffing to City of Orleans to open section of Superdome for special needs evacuees (approximately 400 capacity). • Cared for 1200 special needs evacuees pre-storm • Moved Special Needs Shelters in Lake Charles and Lafayette to Shreveport and Monroe respectively to accommodate needs. • Increased the capacity in the Special Needs Shelters in Alexandria and Baton Rouge to receive evacuees and meet need.

3. Summary of accomplishments by DHH : • POST-Katrina/Rita: • Special Needs sheltering expanded at Nicholls State University and LSU to establish TMOSAs – Temporary Medical Operations and Staging Areas. • LSU – TMOSA, Pete Maravich Assembly Center opened as a surge facility for emergency rooms with the capacity for 800 beds. Over 40,000 evacuees were triaged at this facility. • Nicholls State - TMOSA, Lafourche – triaged over 20,000 evacuees. • Expanded capacity of Special Needs Shelters around the state to care for over 2000 special needs evacuees at one time. • Re-opened Special Needs Shelters and operated a TMOSA in Lafayette to serve returning Rita and Katrina evacuees • Assisted with hospital surge by accepting hospital discharge patients to special needs shelters.

4. Lessons Learned • Communication Challenges • Policy Implications and Gaps • Building Codes • Transportation Issues

5. Policy Decision Points • Prevention and Primary Care • Secondary Care • Tertiary Care • Graduate Medical Education

6. The Future: Health Care’s Needs to Prepare and Respond to Catastrophic Disasters _____________________________________________ • Continue HRSA Grants, with increased level of funding • Reform Stafford Act to include health care costs for catastrophic events and long term response • Funding for purchase and pre-staging of generators for special needs shelters • Mitigation funds for relocation of hospital generators

7. CDC Grant: Public Health Preparedness & Emergency Response • Green status for Strategic National Stockpile readiness • > 30,000 immunizations over past three years during annual statewide mass vaccination exercises • > 1,000 smallpox vaccinations to public health staff and health care workers in 75 hospitals • Enhanced Health Alert Network and IT infrastructure that allowed for online • Disease surveillance reporting • Entry and retrieval of immunization data • Improved web-based disease surveillance and reporting systems • Increased public health laboratory capacity • Established state level and nine regional emergency operations centers • Provided specialized and general emergency preparedness training to employees, partners, and volunteers • Family Readiness Guide developed and distributed to Louisiana citizens • Developed shelf kits on threat agents for medical staff • Conducted regional table-top drills and full scale exercises • Conducted three field deployment disease surveillance exercises • 85 positions wholly or partially funded

8. HRSA Accomplishments • 1. Regions Identified for Hospital Planning Completed • 2. Identification of Lead Facility for each Region Completed • 3. Identification of a Regional Coordinator for each Region Completed • 4. Comprehensive Surveys Developed, Distributed & Analyzed Completed • Regional Hospital Plans Developed and Updated On-going • SMART has been established as a 501 c 3 Completed • Major surge equipment purchase has been completed. Completed • DHH Training Institute (Carville) has been established. Completed • Regional Medical Awareness Trainings for Professionals Completed • Standardized Medical Training has been initiated with Completed • core trainers (BDLS/ ADLS). • 11. Table Top Exercises and Community Drills On-Going • 12. Major Strategic National Stockpile Statewide drill has been Completed • completed under the direction of Public Health