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Computer-Facilitated Assessment of Disaster Preparedness for Remote Hospitals in a Long-Distance, Virtual Tabletop Drill Model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2011

Brian Gillett ,
Mark Silverberg ,
Patricia Roblin ,
John Adelaine ,
Walter Valesky  and
Bonnie Arquilla
Brian Gillett*
Affiliation:
Director of Center for Clinical Simulation, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York USA
Mark Silverberg
Affiliation:
Associate Residency Director, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate, Brooklyn, New York USA
Patricia Roblin
Affiliation:
Administrative Director for Division of Disaster Medicine, New York Institute for All Hazard Preparedness, State University of New York Downstate, Brooklyn, New York USA
John Adelaine
Affiliation:
Senior Resident, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate, Brooklyn, New York USA
Walter Valesky
Affiliation:
Director of Disaster Preparedness, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate, Brooklyn, New York USA
Bonnie Arquilla
Affiliation:
Associate Professor Emergency Medicine, Director Emergency Preparedness, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Kings Country Hospital Center, New York Institute All Hazard Preoaredness, Brooklyn, New York USA
*
Correspondence: Brian Gillett, MD 4802 10th AvenueBrooklyn, New York 11219 USA E-mail: bpgillett@earthlink.net
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Abstract

Introduction: Emergency preparedness experts generally are based at academic or governmental institutions. A mechanism for experts to remotely facilitate a distant hospital’s disaster readiness is lacking.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and examine the feasibility of an Internet-based software tool to assess disaster preparedness for remote hospitals using a long-distance, virtual, tabletop drill.

Methods: An Internet-based system that remotely acquires information and analyzes disaster preparedness for hospitals at a distance in a virtual, tabletop drill model was piloted. Nine hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa designated as receiving institutions for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Games and its organizers, utilized the system over a 10-week period. At one-week intervals, the system e-mailed each hospital’s leadership a description of a stadium disaster and instructed them to login to the system and answer questions relating to their hospital’s state of readiness. A total of 169 questions were posed relating to operational and surge capacities, communication, equipment, major incident planning, public relations, staff safety, hospital supplies, and security in each hospital. The system was used to analyze answers and generate a real-time grid that reflectied readiness as a percent for each hospital in each of the above categories. It also created individualized recommendations of how to improve preparedness for each hospital. To assess feasibility of such a system, the end users’ compliance and response times were examined.

Results: Overall, compliance was excellent with an aggregate response rate of 98%. The mean response interval, defined as the time elapsed between sending a stimuli and receiving a response, was eight days (95% CI = 8–9 days).

Conclusions: A web-based data acquisition system using a virtual, tabletop drill to remotely facilitate assessment of disaster preparedness is efficient and feasible. Weekly reinforcement for disaster preparedness resulted in strong compliance.

Keywords

computer-facilitated assessmentdisasterFIFA World Cuphospitallong-distance drillpreparednessremote hospitaltabletop drill
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , June 2011 , pp. 230 - 233
Copyright
Copyright Gillett © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2011

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