Hospital built to weather natural disasters

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Carbajal
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  In the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is not uncommon for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to occur. With thousands of earthquakes striking Alaska in 2009 and more than 130 active volcanoes in the state, Anchorage and Elmendorf are continually on alert for some sort of natural hazard. For this reason, the base's hospital has been constructed to deal with disastrous conditions.

Each aspect of the facility's engineering is designed to address challenges of a natural disaster: physical damage, power production and air circulation.

"With the number of earthquakes we have here, it is crucial that we can support the mission during any natural disaster," said Col. (Dr.) Paul Friedrichs, 3rd Medical Group commander.

Between each floor of the hospital are isolated building spaces which house the facility's internal structure. The building's steel structure design, coupled with reinforced plating at the joints of the beams and columns, make it resistant to earthquake damage.

"The building's engineering allows it to withstand a 9.2-magnitude earthquake," said Jeff Liddle, hospital engineer, who acted as the on-site regional civil engineer for its construction. He witnessed two greater than 7.0-magnitude earthquakes while working as an engineer at Misawa Air Base, Japan.

Anchorage and most of Southcentral Alaska falls under seismic zone 4, the highest category. These zones, labeled 1 through 4, indicate the frequency and severity of the seismic activity in the region.

Being in zone 4, the newer facilities must comply with current building standards, said Mr. Liddle. These standards give occupants the greatest chance of survival during a disaster.

"Ensuring the safety of the building's occupants is the key," said Mr. Liddle. "If our doctors are performing a life or death surgery, the furthest thing from their mind should be 'is this building safe for me and my patient.'"

The MDG commander agrees that the building supports the critical mission of the medics.

"Aside from the building, this is a wonderful staff here, but the focus of our staff should be all on the care of the patients," said Colonel Friedrichs. "The doctors, nurse and techs should feel very confident with our facility."

Another concern during a natural disaster is electricity. The building is not dependent on the base's power source during a disaster.

"We have 75,000-gallon storage tanks of JP-8 (jet fuel) to power our generators if the base loses power," said Mr. Liddle.

To comply with hospital codes, the building's generators must kick on within 8 seconds of power loss.

"This feature is crucial when medical care is being provided. Doctors must be able to see and use their instruments when they're with patients," said Mr. Liddle.

The storage tanks can power the hospital with a month's worth of electricity, he added.

The building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning allows them to have a negative or positive pressure in the six different sections of the hospital.

"This means we can cycle the outside air through the facility or we can cut off the outside air and recirculate inside the building," said Mr. Liddle. "Our system gives us the flexibility to have negative pressure in one section and have positive pressure in the neighboring sections."

This system is useful during pandemics such as bird flu or H1N1.

"When heavily contagious diseases are found in the hospital, we can circulate the external air to eliminate its spreading within the hospital," said Mr. Liddle.

This HVAC system is also beneficial during volcanic eruptions, said Mr. Liddle. With the use of external air filters, they can prevent volcanic ash from circulating through the building.

"This capability is great to have when you have so many volcanoes around," Mr. Liddle.

The hospital was able to use this technology in March 2009 when Mount Redoubt erupted sending an ash plume to Anchorage.

The survivability of the base hospital is not only critical to Arctic Warriors but also to many in the local community.

"We provide health care to nearly 20 percent of Anchorage's population," said Colonel Friedrichs. "Our state counterparts tell us we're a huge part of the health care network in Alaska."