Iowa facility describes what worked during its response

A flooded hospital’s recovery efforts not only offer lessons for other healthcare facilities, but inspiration too.

When preparing for a disaster, it’s difficult to gauge what people will do and how they will pull together to manage the situation. But Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, found that staff members will find the energy and inventive ways to accomplish difficult tasks in the face of a catastrophe.

The hospital evacuated June 13 after floodwaters rose on its downtown campus following torrential rains. The facility is now reviewing its response actions and incorporating changes into the emergency operations plan, says Joanie McMahon, administrative supervisor of emergency management at the hospital.