Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons^™

Improving Hurricane Disaster Preparedness: Models For Optimal Reallocation Of Hospital Capacity, Jomon Paul, Rajan Batta

Jomon Aliyas Paul

This research presents significant improvements to the hospital capacity planning models for hurricane disaster proposed by Paul and Batta. Firstly, we develop a model that reallocates hospital capacities taking into account the effect of casualty severity on medical care demands and travel time to hospitals on casualty outcomes. Secondly, travel time to hospitals, a key input to the model, is estimated using a stochastic simulation. Thirdly, in order to meet with challenges that arise as disaster evolves, we develop an algorithm that dynamically updates the pre-disaster plans to post-disaster reality. The algorithm evaluates prior decisions by dynamically updating the hospital …