Turning a Family Dollar Parking Lot into an Emergency Department-Turning a Family Dollar Parking Lot into an Emergency Department

Turning a Family Dollar Parking Lot into an Emergency Department

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This video presentation focuses on a disaster response in which a full-functioning emergency department was set up in a family parking lot. The mobile emergency department was requested due to the lack of a functioning hospital in the community after Hurricane Florence. The deployment presented several challenges, including operating in a remote location without external support, staffing and logistical issues, and the need for additional resources like pharmacy support. The team saw a large number of patients daily, with the hospital becoming quickly overwhelmed. Lessons learned from this deployment included the importance of proper staffing, access to specialty providers, and the need to stock adequate supplies. The team also had to deal with media attention and security concerns. Despite the challenges, the team made a significant impact in the community, delivering babies and providing much-needed medical care to those affected by the hurricane. The presentation concludes with an overview of the current state of the mobile emergency department and its readiness to respond to future disasters.

Keywords

disaster response

emergency department

mobile emergency department

Hurricane Florence

staffing

logistical issues

pharmacy support

lessons learned

community impact