Can Ferries Save the Day?
by Vanessa DeGier
A blue-ribbon task force, co-chaired by UCSF Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding, has recommended that water transportation be elevated to a prominent level in the Bay Area's emergency preparedness plans.
The task force was created after California State Senator Don Perata, president pro tempore, requested the Bay Area Council, a local public policy group, to evaluate and provide recommendations to make ferries on the bay a primary disaster recovery service.
The group presented its report during a press conference at the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal just days before the centennial of San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake.
If the plan laid out in the report is implemented, a regional high-speed ferry network on the bay would be available for recovery efforts following a disaster.
Importance to UCSF
This report is important to the UCSF community because, as a first responder, the UCSF Medical Center is committed to caring for victims in the immediate aftermath of earthquakes or other disasters. Hospitals, however, do not act alone in a disaster response; they are dependent upon city emergency services and personnel to plan, coordinate and react to patient needs. For this reason, UCSF has endorsed the Bay Area Council's proposal to create a regional high-speed ferry network for recovery efforts following a disaster. Scope of Disaster
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates there may be as many as 18,000 casualties in the event of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake centered in the Bay Area. Given this, it is essential that health care personnel be able to quickly reach hospitals and other medical facilities. A functional transportation system is critical to this process. An emergency water transportation system would help to ensure that hospital employees, many of whom reside in the East Bay, could reach the UCSF Medical Center to care for the sick and injured - even if the Bay Bridge or BART was impassable. Ferries could also bring in additional ambulances, medical supplies and equipment. Transportation to SF Is Not Enough
In the event of a large-scale earthquake, city hospitals would be quickly overrun with an influx of patients. Moreover, a seismic analysis conducted by California's Health and Human Services Agency has found that 900 buildings at approximately 500 medical centers statewide would not meet standards for patient safety. In other words, it is highly probable that city hospitals would suffer severe structural damage as a result of an earthquake. If hospitals were damaged or overburdened with the sick and injured, it would be imperative to transport patients across the bay to secure locations. Moving sick and injured patients from a damaged hospital to a sound facility is logistically complex, due to the need for uninterrupted care. Water transit vessels could serve a vital role in this capacity. Ferries outfitted as paramedic units could provide patient transport, shuttling large numbers of individuals to alternative locations, or even serve as temporary medical facilities, or "floating hospitals," capable of receiving and caring for sick and injured patients, filling a crucial need for the city.
This report is important to the UCSF community because, as a first responder, the UCSF Medical Center is committed to caring for victims in the immediate aftermath of earthquakes or other disasters. Hospitals, however, do not act alone in a disaster response; they are dependent upon city emergency services and personnel to plan, coordinate and react to patient needs. For this reason, UCSF has endorsed the Bay Area Council's proposal to create a regional high-speed ferry network for recovery efforts following a disaster. Scope of Disaster
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates there may be as many as 18,000 casualties in the event of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake centered in the Bay Area. Given this, it is essential that health care personnel be able to quickly reach hospitals and other medical facilities. A functional transportation system is critical to this process. An emergency water transportation system would help to ensure that hospital employees, many of whom reside in the East Bay, could reach the UCSF Medical Center to care for the sick and injured - even if the Bay Bridge or BART was impassable. Ferries could also bring in additional ambulances, medical supplies and equipment. Transportation to SF Is Not Enough
In the event of a large-scale earthquake, city hospitals would be quickly overrun with an influx of patients. Moreover, a seismic analysis conducted by California's Health and Human Services Agency has found that 900 buildings at approximately 500 medical centers statewide would not meet standards for patient safety. In other words, it is highly probable that city hospitals would suffer severe structural damage as a result of an earthquake. If hospitals were damaged or overburdened with the sick and injured, it would be imperative to transport patients across the bay to secure locations. Moving sick and injured patients from a damaged hospital to a sound facility is logistically complex, due to the need for uninterrupted care. Water transit vessels could serve a vital role in this capacity. Ferries outfitted as paramedic units could provide patient transport, shuttling large numbers of individuals to alternative locations, or even serve as temporary medical facilities, or "floating hospitals," capable of receiving and caring for sick and injured patients, filling a crucial need for the city.