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In March 2020, the State of Louisiana opened an alternative care site at the New Orleans Convention Center, known as the Medical Monitoring Station (MMS). The facility was designed, constructed, and staffed to serve a population with basic medical needs as they recovered from COVID-19. As the MMS prepared to open, local hospitals indicated a greater need for assistance with patients requiring a higher acuity of care and populations unable to be discharged due to infection risks. In response to this, the capabilities of the facility were altered to accommodate primarily elderly patients, with significant comorbidities, requiring extensive care. This manuscript presents the demographics of the first 250 patients seen at the MMS, and describes the most critical policies/protocols, interventions, and resources that proved successful in adjusting to effectively serve its population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In August 2021, Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana as a near-category five storm, bringing massive devastation to the region's healthcare infrastructure. In its aftermath, extreme heat coincided with record COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state, leaving minimal healthcare surge capacity remaining and medically vulnerable populations unprotected. Meanwhile, sparse pre-storm evacuations exposed prominent gaps in existing medical response plans designed to serve high-risk groups. Subsequently, Louisiana rapidly established a 250-bed alternative care site (ACS) within hard-hit New Orleans. This presentation highlights key considerations in the operation of the site and discusses which patient populations are most in need of medical support following tropical weather events. Method: The findings of this discussion are the result of after-action reviews, brief literature reviews, and the experiences of responders during Hurricane Ida. The presentation also draws on retrospective patient chart reviews from Louisiana's prior alternative care sites. Results: Following Hurricane Ida, a post-storm alternative care site was rapidly established in New Orleans in partnership with a US Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). Operationalized in less than 72-hours, this site provided inpatient care to displaced persons with major chronic medical needs (e.g. home ventilators, hemodialysis, respiratory therapies), significant mobility impairment, wound care, and psychiatric illnesses. Incorporating Louisiana's experience with a COVID-19 alternative care site, this facility far-exceeded the typical scope of medical shelters, simultaneously lessening medical surge on already-overburdened hospitals and meeting post-storm needs in the region. Conclusion: Following extreme weather events in metropolitan areas, traumatic injuries and acute illness comprise a small proportion of the medical needs after the event. Accordingly, disaster medical responses must prepare to treat large numbers of chronic illness exacerbations that result from a loss of access to primary care, home health support, and auxiliary services. This approach efficiently leverages resources into lifesaving interventions and protects healthcare systems during times of high stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In March 2020, the Louisiana Department of Health activated the Medical Monitoring Station (MMS) in downtown New Orleans. This alternative care site is designed to decompress hospitals and nursing homes overwhelmed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Given the city's historic vulnerability to hurricanes, planning for possible tropical weather events has been a priority for MMS leadership., Methods: The planning process incorporated input from all sectors/agencies working at the facility, to ensure consistency and cohesion. The MMS Shelter-in-Place Plan (MSIPP) was created, and a comprehensive tabletop exercise was conducted., Results: Six planning topics emerged as a result of the planning process and were used to create a comprehensive plan for sheltering-in-place. These topics address hurricane preparedness for patient care, interfacility coordination, wrap-around services, medical logistics, essential staffing, and incident command during a shelter-in-place scenario., Conclusions: The MSIPP created by the MMS helped to maximize patient safety and continuity of operations during a real-world event. Select pieces of the plan were activated to meet the needs and threat level of Tropical Storm Cristobal. This experience reinforced the need for originality, scalability, and flexibility in building emergency operations plans in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic.

In March 2020, the State of Louisiana opened an alternative care site at the New Orleans Convention Center, known as the Medical Monitoring Station (MMS). The facility was designed, constructed, and staffed to serve a population with basic medical needs as they recovered from COVID-19. As the MMS prepared to open, local hospitals indicated a greater need for assistance with patients requiring a higher acuity of care and populations unable to be discharged due to infection risks. In response to this, the capabilities of the facility were altered to accommodate primarily elderly patients, with significant comorbidities, requiring extensive care. This manuscript presents the demographics of the first 250 patients seen at the MMS, and describes the most critical policies/protocols, interventions, and resources that proved successful in adjusting to effectively serve its population.