47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

4.2 HEALTH CARE FACILITIES4.2.1 BACKGROUNDHealth care facilities are at the front line of communityprotection, especially during and after a natural disasterevent. Their capacity to continue to provide services to existingpatients, and to respond to the needs of victims following adisaster, depends not only on protecting the integrity of the structureand the building envelope, but on the facilities’ ability tocarry out their intended functions with little or no interruption.Continued and uninterrupted operation of health care facilities,regardless of the nature of the disaster, is one of the most importantelements of a natural disaster safety program.Health care facilities, especially hospitals, are usually very complexbuilding systems, because they accommodate diverse and highlyspecialized services in a strictly controlled environment. Hospitalbuildings must be designed to provide appropriate spatial arrangementfor the flawless interaction between staff, patients, andvisitors. They also require a complex network of technological infrastructureto support the hospital’s functions. Even the smallestbreakdown in this complex network can cascade into a serious disruptionof operations.Protecting the functionality of a hospital requires very careful facilityplanning and design that is in accordance with the moststringent flooding and high-wind mitigation requirements applicableto the site. The damage sustained by hospitals duringOBSERVATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CRITICAL FACILITIES4-3