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August 2004, Vol 94, No. 8 | American Journal of Public Health 1436-1441
© 2004 American Public Health Association

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Function and Response of Nursing Facilities During Community Disaster

Debra Saliba, MD, MPH, Joan Buchanan, PhD and Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, MBA

Debra Saliba is with Health Services Research and Development, Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, Calif, the University of California, Los Angeles–Veterans Administration Medical Center Multicampus Program in Geriatrics, and the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. Joan Buchanan is with the Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass. Raynard S. Kington is with the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Debra Saliba, MD, MPH, RAND, 1700 Main St M-28, Santa Monica, CA 90407 (e-mail: saliba{at}rand.org).

Objectives. We sought to describe the role and function of nursing facilities after disaster.

Methods. We surveyed administrators at 144 widely dispersed nursing facilities after the Los Angeles Northridge earthquake.

Results. Of the 113 (78%) nursing facilities that responded (11 365 beds), 23 sustained severe damage, 5 closed (625 beds), and 72 lost vital services. Of 87 nursing facilities implementing disaster plans, 56 cited problems that plans did not adequately address, including absent staff, communication problems, and insufficient water and generator fuel. Fifty-nine (52%) reported disaster-related admissions from hospitals, nursing facilities, and community residences. Nursing facilities received limited postdisaster assistance. Five months after the earthquake, only half of inadequate nursing facility disaster plans had been revised.

Conclusions. Despite considerable disaster-related stresses, nursing facilities met important community needs. To optimize disaster response, communitywide disaster plans should incorporate nursing facilities.




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S. B. Laditka, J. N. Laditka, S. Xirasagar, C. B. Cornman, C. B. Davis, and J. V.E. Richter
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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