With the biggest winter storm to hit some areas in years, health systems must plan to make sure hospitals are equipped for the worst, since closing isn’t an option.
But the planning also involves coordinating with local and state emergency management teams, weighing supplies, and dealing with road closures and other transportation delays. The National Weather Service projects cities in the Northeast could get one to two feet of snow, and the massive weather system is likely to affect most Americans east of the Rocky Mountains.
Meghan Treber, chief preparedness officer of the University of Maryland Medical System, has been working to coordinate readiness across the organization. The health system operates 11 hospitals across Maryland, and forecasts call for a foot or more of snow in some areas Saturday night into Monday morning…