Abstract
Wildfires have been affecting California greatly, and vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not exempt. Our aim was to learn how personnel working in NICUs of California hospitals handled issues of neonatal transfer during wildfire disasters in recent years, with an ultimate goal to share lessons learned with healthcare teams on disaster preparedness. We identified California fires through newspaper articles and the CalFire.gov list. We determined which hospitals were affected and contacted members of the healthcare team through connections via the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC) database. We audio recorded interviews over phone or remote conferencing software or by written survey. We coded and analyzed transcripts and survey responses. While describing disaster preparedness, equipment (such as bassinets and backpacks), ambulance access/transport and documentation/charting were noted as important and essential. Teamwork, willingness to do other tasks that are not part of typical job descriptions, and unconventional strategies contribute to the success of keeping NICU babies safe when California wildfire strikes. Healthcare teams developed ingenious and surprising ways to evacuate NICU babies.
Highlights
Wildfires have been affecting California greatly, and vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not exempt
“The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California with a total of 8,527 fires” [1]. These wildfires led to various evacuations in healthcare settings including neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), and evacuation protocol reevaluation
The purpose of this study was to learn more about the issues faced by NICU healthcare providers during wildfire disasters, with the longer-term goal of improving NICU patient safety
Summary
Wildfires have been affecting California greatly, and vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not exempt. Our aim was to learn how personnel working in NICUs of California hospitals handled issues of neonatal transfer during wildfire disasters in recent years, with an ultimate goal to share lessons learned with healthcare teams on disaster preparedness. “The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California with a total of 8,527 fires” [1]. These wildfires led to various evacuations in healthcare settings including neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), and evacuation protocol reevaluation. Babies cared for in NICUs are most likely to be impacted by acute evacuation from their units [3]
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