Healthcare executives' role in preparing for the pandemic influenza 'gap': a new paradigm for disaster planning?

P andemic influenza, by its nature, is a healthcare disaster. Healthcare organizations are the unique reservoirs of the essential knowledge and tools for handling such a pandemic; they have infection-control procedures, universal precautions, and personal protective equipment for virus protection. Because of this, healthcare organizations run the risk of being the scapegoat if this pandemic is mishandled, just as the Federal Emergency Management Agency was blamed for providing too-little help and too-late response to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is not an option for hospitals to merely plan to respond to an influenza disaster that could drain resources all across the country, leaving each community to address the disaster as best it can, without outside help, until the vaccine is available. In this case, the public will demand accountability and look for someone to blame for death rates that could be unheard of in history. Healthcare organizations have the unique obligation to act in advance, not just plan to respond. This article discusses a paradigm shift in disaster preparation that is aimed at saving lives and enabling healthcare organizations to be heroes, not villains, in the event of a pandemic influenza disaster.