Vulnerability of Older Adults in Disasters: Emergency Department Utilization by Geriatric Patients After Hurricane Sandy.

Objective: Older adults are a potentially medically vulnerable population with increased mortality rates during and after disasters. To evaluate the impact of a natural disaster on this population, we performed a temporal and geospatial analysis of emergency department (ED) use by adults aged 65 years and older in New York City (NYC) following Hurricane Sandy's landfall.

Methods: We used an all-payer claims database to analyze demographics, insurance status, geographic distribution, and health conditions for post-disaster ED visits among older adults.

Acute post-disaster medical needs of patients with diabetes: emergency department use in New York City by diabetic adults after Hurricane Sandy.

Objective: To evaluate the acute impact of disasters on diabetic patients, we performed a geospatial analysis of emergency department (ED) use by New York City diabetic adults in the week after Hurricane Sandy.

Research Design And Methods: Using an all-payer claims database, we retrospectively analyzed the demographics, insurance status, and medical comorbidities of post-disaster ED patients with diabetes who lived in the most geographically vulnerable areas. We compared the patterns of ED use among diabetic adults in the first week after Hurricane Sandy's landfall to utilization before the disaster in 2012.

Freestanding Emergency Critical Care During the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy: Implications for Disaster Preparedness and Response.

Objective: To assess the impact of an emergency intensive care unit (EICU) established concomitantly with a freestanding emergency department (ED) during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of all patients in Bellevue's EICU from freestanding ED opening (December 10, 2012) until hospital inpatient reopening (February 7, 2013). Temporal and clinical data, and disposition upon EICU arrival, and ultimate disposition were evaluated.

Prehospital Indicators for Disaster Preparedness and Response: New York City Emergency Medical Services in Hurricane Sandy.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate emergency medical services (EMS) data as disaster metrics and to assess stress in surrounding hospitals and a municipal network after the closure of Bellevue Hospital during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed EMS activity and call types within New York City's 911 computer-assisted dispatch database from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013. We evaluated EMS ambulance transports to individual hospitals during Bellevue's closure and incremental recovery from urgent care capacity, to freestanding emergency department (ED) capability, freestanding ED with 911-receiving designation, and return of inpatient services.