CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The increasing strength and frequency of extreme weather events has exposed vulnerabilities in the nation’s emergency response systems, highlighting both the immense challenges of keeping people safe and significant opportunities for more effective public-private collaboration. As communities brace for, respond to and recover from such events, coordination between government agencies and health systems emerges as a critical factor in deploying supplies, delivering care and, ultimately, saving lives. Some large health systems, with their vast networks and resources, have a unique ability to fill gaps and provide essential services that complement government efforts during crises.
Recognizing the need for enhanced preparedness and coordination, Advocate Health today released a new white paper illustrating its significant contributions to disaster recovery efforts following one of 2024’s most destructive storms. “The Vital Role of Large Health Systems in Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Helene” details how innovative strategies at the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system mitigated the impacts of Hurricane Helene and the national IV fluid shortage that followed. By leveraging its scale and expertise, Advocate Health quickly mobilized to meet critical needs in affected communities across North Carolina.
“With our size and scale, we had the opportunity to do what we needed to and could do for the impacted communities, from getting additional staff to impacted hospitals, to deploying our mobile hospital, to flying patients out of affected areas and supplies in,” said Advocate Health’s vice president of security Dr. Jason Stopyra, who oversees the system’s emergency management team. “In a time of crisis, the power and resources of a large health care system offers those opportunities, and we are at the ready when those times of need come calling.”
Hurricane Helene struck the southeastern U.S. in septiembre de 2024, devastating communities and flooding a factory responsible for producing 60% of the nation’s IV fluids. Advocate Health’s response included deploying its Charlotte-based care delivery brand’s proprietary mobile hospital, Atrium Health MED-1, and utilizing its extensive air and ground transport services to provide care and deliver essential supplies. The health system’s structure enabled teams on the ground to act swiftly, including launching spontaneous helicopter supply missions.
“The government can’t do this alone – they need large health systems that know their communities and are flexible enough to respond to high-intensity pockets of need,” said Dr. David Callaway, chief of crisis operations and sustainability for Advocate Health. “We need this new type of public-private partnership in order to be more effective.”
The white paper highlights how Advocate Health’s use of a real-time data dashboard enabled precise inventory management, allowing for effective distribution of IV fluids across its six-state footprint. Conservation measures – including switching to oral hydration therapies and using smaller IV bags – reduced overall usage by 55%, ensuring no cancellations of surgeries due to the shortage.
“[The data dashboard] allowed us to have a better understanding of the days-on-hand supply of all these critical products, and, because we could break it down by region and market, we could see who was doing a great job adopting conservation methods,” said Vincent Jackson, senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer for Advocate Health. “Then we could find out what they were doing, so we could apply lessons learned in other regions.”
A reflection of Advocate Health’s commitment to collaboration and building community resilience, the white paper provides a blueprint for other health systems to adopt – and adapt – in preparing for and responding to extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions.
The white paper, “The Vital Role of Large Health Systems in Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Helene,” is available for download: AdvocateHealth.org/HeleneResponse.
It was researched and crafted by APCO Worldwide on Advocate Health’s behalf.
Contacto con los medios de comunicación
MediaRelations@aah.org
Media@atriumhealth.org
