Collaboration between a Hospital and the Surrounding Communities in an Emergency and Disaster

Introduction:Muhammadiyah, the Indonesia non-governmental organization (NGO), has more than 300 hospitals. It is one of the forerunners of the Safe Hospital Initiative in Indonesia beginning in 2008. Muhammadiyah realized that hospital strengthening must be done in collaboration with community strengthening. From 2016 to 2018, Muhammadiyah ran a program named Hospital Preparedness and Community Readiness for Emergency and Disaster (HPCRED) that was carried out through strengthening two hospitals and their surrounding communities in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, and Bima, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). This program was funded by the Australian Government and is in line with the Safe Hospital Comprehensive Framework of the World Health Organization (WHO).Aim:To strengthen hospitals and the surrounding communities to prepare for emergencies and disasters.Methods:HPCRED completed 92 activities in two areas consisting of the following: 10 training, 26 workshops, 12 exercises, four monitoring and evaluation meetings, and seven technical sessions/seminars. The exercises consisted of tabletop exercises, skill drills, command post exercise, and full-scale exercise.Results:There were positive changes in the hospitals and communities particularly on disaster management, policy, procedures, staff and community skills, knowledge, and behavior. The integration and collaboration between the hospital surrounding communities were established and can be examined by documents, agreements, and activities done together between the hospital and community during and after the program.Discussion:Before the program, hospitals were not ready to face disasters. PKU Bima Hospital collapsed during a flash flood in December 2016. The community, to save housing from water, hollowed the hospital wall out causing water entrance into the hospital. It meant there were no communication and coordination between the hospital and its community. HPCRED not only made them communicate and coordinate but also collaborate and cooperate to reduce risks and response disasters such as responding Lombok Earthquake in July 2018.