Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

What hospitals can learn from snow preparedness

Suneel Dhand, MD
Physician
February 23, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

Significant snow in New England every winter is about as certain as sun in Florida every summer. When I moved to the USA from the south of (old) England to do my medical residency in Maryland, my first few years living in the United States were relatively snow-free.

But when I started my first job as an attending physician in central Massachusetts, I was in for a big shock. I had never yet shoveled snow in my life, but soon realized it was a rite of passage every winter in this part of the world. Having now lived here for the last several years, I’ve become as used to it as all the seasoned New Englander’s around me.

Every winter the heavy snow invariably comes, and every winter I’m always impressed by how quickly towns and cities work to prepare beforehand and rush to clear the roads in lightning quick time afterwards. The recent, large snow blizzards showed the importance of preparation for any big task. Hundreds of trucks stood ready, and hundreds of emergency personnel were drafted in for the clean-up efforts. And sticking with this theme of winter, speaking as a doctor who has worked in a lot of different hospitals in the Northeast, I believe that hospitals can learn an awful lot from how towns and cities prepare for snowstorms.

The typical scenario for hospitals goes something like this: winter comes, and thousands more people fall sick — coughs, colds, pneumonias, and, of course, the dreaded flu. For the already sick and frail, it doesn’t take much to push them over the edge to the point where they need a hospitalization. It happens every winter across the country — resulting in hospitals experiencing a “surge” of patients. Yet still every winter, many hospitals are taken off guard and struggle to cope with the increased need. Resources and staff are stretched, and ultimately patients have to wait longer for much-needed services. Instead of this situation always happening, hospitals could prepare better by:

  • convening committees in the Fall to discuss and implement upcoming winter arrangements
  • create a nursing staffing winter schedule to ensure a “float pool” of extra nurses
  • certain medical specialties including Emergency Medicine and Hospital Medicine should also have a special winter schedule that includes extra available physicians, made well in advance (not at the last minute)
  • forming arrangements with neighboring hospitals for emergent bed diversion situations
  • plan to reduce the volume of elective cases such as orthopedic surgeries during winter months in order to free up beds for other medical cases

Winter patient surges for hospitals are only likely to become more severe with the aging population and increase in chronic conditions including COPD and congestive heart failure. Rather than being caught out, hospitals would do well to remember what Benjamin Franklin said about any big task: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician and author of Thomas Jefferson: Lessons from a Secret Buddha and High Percentage Wellness Steps: Natural, Proven, Everyday Steps to Improve Your Health & Well-being.  He blogs at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand.

Prev

Like hikers, patients also need guides

February 23, 2015 Kevin 3
…
Next

Top stories in health and medicine, February 24, 2015

February 24, 2015 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Hospitalist

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Like hikers, patients also need guides
Next Post >
Top stories in health and medicine, February 24, 2015

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Suneel Dhand, MD

  • The dream patient that makes a doctor very happy

    Suneel Dhand, MD
  • When the family wants to speak to the doctor

    Suneel Dhand, MD
  • 3 reasons why patients are unhappy

    Suneel Dhand, MD

More in Physician

  • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • The child within: a grown woman’s quiet grief

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • Why the physician shortage may be our last line of defense

    Yuri Aronov, MD
  • 5 years later: Doctors reveal the untold truths of COVID-19

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • The hidden cost of health care: burnout, disillusionment, and systemic betrayal

    Nivedita U. Jerath, MD
  • Why this doctor hid her story for a decade

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • How collaboration across medical disciplines and patient advocacy cured a rare disease [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Bird flu’s deadly return: Are we flying blind into the next pandemic?

      Tista S. Ghosh, MD, MPH | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How collaboration across medical disciplines and patient advocacy cured a rare disease [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • 5 cancer myths that could delay your diagnosis or treatment

      Joseph Alvarnas, MD | Conditions
    • When bleeding disorders meet IVF: Navigating von Willebrand disease in fertility treatment

      Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of becoming a doctor: a South Asian perspective

      Momeina Aslam | Education
    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • The child within: a grown woman’s quiet grief

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • How collaboration across medical disciplines and patient advocacy cured a rare disease [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Bird flu’s deadly return: Are we flying blind into the next pandemic?

      Tista S. Ghosh, MD, MPH | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How collaboration across medical disciplines and patient advocacy cured a rare disease [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • 5 cancer myths that could delay your diagnosis or treatment

      Joseph Alvarnas, MD | Conditions
    • When bleeding disorders meet IVF: Navigating von Willebrand disease in fertility treatment

      Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of becoming a doctor: a South Asian perspective

      Momeina Aslam | Education
    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • The child within: a grown woman’s quiet grief

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

What hospitals can learn from snow preparedness
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...