Measures to Enhance Evacuation Safety of Nursing Hospitals Through Evacuation Simulation

Abstract

This study allows comparative analysis of the evacuation time required for nursing hospitals using an evacuation simulation program and proposes an optimized procedure to enhance safety. Considering the current laws and regulations that nursing hospitals may be exempted from using ramps or elevators, this study analyzed the evacuation time of all occupants, including patients who cannot evacuate by themselves. The following three cases were analyzed in order: elevators were exempt but ramps were installed, ramps were exempt but elevators that can move a bed were installed, and both elevators and ramps were installed. Last, the study comparatively analyzed the evacuation time for the above-mentioned cases when an additional evacuation space was installed. The results of the evacuation simulation showed that the required evacuation time was the shortest when a ramp, an elevator, and an evacuation space were all installed. Although there are provisions exempting ramps or elevators in nursing hospitals, the law should be revised to require the installation of both of them in nursing hospitals of two floors or higher. It is also an appropriate time to discuss the retroactive enforcement of evacuation space—which replaces the vertical evacuation of those vulnerable during evacuation—currently required for newly built or change-of-use nursing hospitals.