Flooding in Louisiana is testing local hospitals' operations, especially in light of reduced federal funding for hospital preparedness, according to an article on the Modern Healthcare website.
Funding to help hospitals prepare for disasters has subsided over the past decade. In fiscal 2015, HHS' Hospital Preparedness Program was valued at $255 million, roughly half of funding levels a decade earlier.
North Oaks Health System, in Hammond, La., east of Baton Rouge, has been able to avoid major disruption because its acute-care and rehabilitation hospitals stand 40 feet above sea level.
More than 50 employees slept at the hospital over the weekend due to freeway closures, and early estimates suggest that 125 to 175 employees are dealing with flooded homes and cars.
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