Abstract
The federal government requires hospitals participating in Medicare to have and be able to implement a comprehensive plan to deal with emergency situations.1 At issue are the safety and well-being of patients. A hospital must identify likely risks for its location, such as natural disasters, nuclear accidents, and industrial accidents, and develop appropriate responses. U.S. coastal areas abutting the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico are at risk in hurricanes and tropical storms. From 1950 to 2005, the southern tip of Texas was struck by three hurricanes, all of which had sustained winds of 111–130 mph. 2 Hurricane Dolly made landfall on July 23, 2008, on the Texas barrier islands and headed west into the Rio Grande Valley.3 Three days earlier, Dolly had been a tropical storm in the southwest Gulf of Mexico. But an extended region of relatively low atmospheric pressure in west Texas slowed the storm’s forward motion. Dolly turned northwest and intensified, becoming a category 2 hurricane.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
