Study objective Hospital evacuations have myriad effects on all elements of the health care
system. We seek to (1) examine the effect of patient surge on hospitals that received patients
from evacuating hospitals in New York City during Hurricane Sandy;(2) describe operational
challenges those hospitals faced pre-and poststorm; and (3) examine the coordination
efforts to distribute patients to receiving hospitals. Methods We used a qualitative, interview-
based method to identify medical surge strategies used at hospitals receiving patients from …