In an article that first appeared in Canadian Healthcare Facilities magazine, Mike Cavanaugh and Brett Farbstein of architectural, engineering, design, and construction firm, CannonDesign, consider some of the fundamentals in ensuring that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are designed to be as resilient as possible in the face of extreme climate events.
When major weather events like 2018’s Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Gordon make landfall, they create chaos for everything in their path. While many people can flee these storms in advance to ensure their safety, healthcare institutions must stay operational to serve those in need of care. The decision to close or evacuate a hospital can mean life or death for critical patients. Given this, as well as the tens of millions of dollars in damages that may be sustained when severe weather hits, it is imperative that healthcare leaders invest in hospitals and care facilities designed for maximum resiliency.
Overcoming obstacles
Today, hospitals face many resiliency challenges. Design responses most commonly focus on sea level rise, inland flooding, wildfires, extreme temperatures, drought, and extended power loss.
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