In preparation for hurricane season, Broward Health put its Patient Logistics Center to the test with a scenario that included a direct hit by a storm.
Emergency Management recently held a 90-minute drill with Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Imperial Point to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. Engaging system and hospital leadership, representatives from county emergency management and law enforcement officials, participants responded in real-time to a disaster scenario during the exercise.
“This evacuation drill showed our community partners that we have a solid incident command structure and evacuation process,” said Kelly Keys, manager of emergency management, Broward Health. “It also showed us that we are ready and prepared, but as always have some opportunities to improve what we already do well.”New to this year’s drill was the use of the Patients Logistic Center to relocate patients. The Center uses TeleTracking to manage patient flow throughout the system to help ensure patients move through the cycle of care as efficiently as possible. The hospital partnered with local EMS, Emergency Management, Florida Department of Health, MCT Express Ambulance Service and neighboring healthcare systems to conduct the drill.
“TeleTracking enables us to know at all times where our patients are located,” said Paul Taber, director of centralized patient logistics at Broward Health. “In emergency scenarios, healthcare organizations may be faced with evacuations – both within and outside of your hospital. This drill reinforced that TeleTracking and the patient logistics center are in place to ensure safe transfer and continual patient tracking.”
