
Public hospitals provide disproportionately more emergency services (e.g., trauma and burn care) than their non-public counterparts, given their representation in the hospital industry as a whole. NAPH members are also experienced in responding to large scale emergencies such as: Hurricane Katrina, the Northeast Blackout, blizzards in Colorado, the Seattle windstorm, and the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. For these reasons, NAPH has focused on researching and promoting the preparedness work of their members.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and at the urging of its members, NAPH and NPHHI finalized a comprehensive study in 2007 that sought to: a) identify emergency preparedness (EP) issues and concerns for large urban safety net hospitals, and b) explore the role that public hospitals play during an emergency. Continue Reading