South Charlotte Today

The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have highlighted vulnerabilities in emergency response systems, underscoring the need for effective public-private collaboration. Advocate Health has released a white paper detailing its role in disaster recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene, one of 2024's most destructive storms.

Advocate Health's vice president of security, Dr. Jason Stopyra, emphasized the importance of large health systems during crises: "With our size and scale, we had the opportunity to do what we needed to and could do for the impacted communities." The health system deployed additional staff, a mobile hospital, and air transport services to affected areas in North Carolina.

Dr. David Callaway, chief of crisis operations and sustainability for Advocate Health, stated that government efforts require support from large health systems: "The government can’t do this alone – they need large health systems that know their communities and are flexible enough to respond."

The white paper also discusses how Advocate Health managed an IV fluid shortage caused by factory flooding. By using a real-time data dashboard, they effectively distributed supplies across six states. Vincent Jackson, senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer for Advocate Health, noted the dashboard's role in inventory management: "[The data dashboard] allowed us to have a better understanding of the days-on-hand supply of all these critical products."

Advocate Health's experience provides a blueprint for other health systems preparing for extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions. The white paper is available at AdvocateHealth.org/HeleneResponse.