Hospital disaster management: Preparing for the unexpected
The reach and devastation of recent large-scale emergencies has underscored the need for health care organizations to enhance their capacity to effectively respond to such situations. Hospitals have a two-pronged mission in the event of a disaster: provide patient care and protect their own staff and facilities. The potential consequences of not being prepared or providing an inadequate disaster are obvious: loss of life and tremendous financial costs due to physical destruction. Yet a hospital’s reputation may suffer if there is even a perceived failure on their part. This HMI World Forum explores the challenges of enhancing disaster and emergency preparedness, and presents some internationally recognized approaches to developing, implementing, and assessing disaster management planning for hospitals.

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HMI World invites reader responses.

“Dramatic and documented”: Quality efforts at Wockhardt earn international accreditation

Wockhardt Hospital is only the second health care provider in India to be accredited by Joint Commission International

In Dubai, HMI helps to create a new kind of health care environment
HMI and Dubai reach major milestone with definition of standards and processes to guide continuous quality improvement at Dubai Healthcare City

Special Feature: A mission in seeing at a short-term eye camp in rural Namibia
Second-year HMS student examines effectiveness of short-term medical missions while helping to provide care

Aretz named honorary citizen of longtime university partner in Munich

LMU establishes consulting entity to help other institutions

Women’s health is focus of specialty CME program to be held in Dubai

TMDU drives clinical clerkship reform initiative

Workshop with Nice faculty concentrates on curriculum planning and assessment

New HMI partnership to focus on UK-based projects

Harvard Macy Institute broadens impact for faculty and leaders
For the second year, a medical school in Singapore welcomed HMI faculty for a professional development program utilizing models developed at the Institute

Upcoming courses and events
International Design Strategies for Medical Curricula Across the Continuum
May 7-12, 2006
Deadline to apply: January 20, 2006

Program for Leaders in Healthcare Education
June 11-16, 2006
Deadline to apply:
January 23, 2006

Do doctors practice what is preached?
Harvard Health Letter

Coffee and your blood pressure?
Harvard Men’s Health Watch

The prevalence and treatment of mental illness today
Harvard Mental Health Letter

The aging enigma
Harvard Magazine

Warnings about fish consumption and mercury overstated
Harvard Gazette

Double trouble: Cells with duplicate genomes can trigger tumors
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Front-line HIV drug-resistance testing should be new standard of care for untreated patients, study suggests
Brigham & Women’s Hospital