Evacuation of Health Care Facilities: A New Twist to a Classic Model

Abstract

Disasters and their potential for damage are increasing in the United States and worldwide. Government officials warn that disasters will be occurring at an increasing rate and will worsen in the future. As these risks increase, the likelihood of evacuation of a health care facility grows. We know much about the role of hospitals in evacuation, yet little about how the decision to evacuate a facility is initially made. This study compares two models from studies related to the evacuation process: Vogt's adaptation of Quarantelli's classic model examining organizational ability to cope, and McGlown's model from variables considered critical to health care executives in the decision to evacuate a health care facility. This study contributes to the literature on evacuation behavior of health care organizations by examining the variables perceived by decision makers as critical in their decision to evacuate their facility compared to variables identified in the literature. These findings may form the first constructive step toward the development of an empirically based decision framework for health facility evacuation.