Evacuate or shelter-in-place? Applying a risk-informed decision support tool for long-term care facilities threatened by wildfire

Author's Biography

Brent Hobbs is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years’ clinical and administrative experience in emergency, critical care patient transportation. He is the Executive Director of Patient Access, Transport and Emergency Response for the Interior Health Authority (IHA). Brent’s team is responsible for managing a system that coordinates the timely referral, access and transportation of patients between 50 acute, community and long-term care facilities in the southern interior of British Columbia. In states of emergency, this system is leveraged to coordinate the evacuation of vulnerable patients and residents to alternative care facilities.

Alana Hicik has over 20 years’ diverse leadership experience in pre-hospital patient care, rural/remote community paramedicine and Health Incident Command System training. She also served as an associate faculty member at the Justice Institute of British Columbia School of Health Sciences for six years. Alana is a Specialist with Health Emergency Management British Columbia and has supported the Interior Health Authority (IHA) Emergency Operations Centre during several community and long-term care evacuations, including the 2021 wildfire and atmospheric river events and the 2023 and 2024 wildfires. Currently, Alana is conducting a thesis on the determinates of resident wildfire evacuation behaviours for the completion of a Master’s in disaster and emergency management from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

Jeffrey Tochkin is currently working in the field of health emergency management in the province of British Columbia, Canada and has over 14 years’ experience in this discipline. He holds a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) designation and has published numerous articles in the healthcare leadership and risk reduction space. He has much experience in preparing health organisations for disasters and responding to large community events, such as extreme heat, flood and wildfires. Jeffrey is currently completing PhD studies at the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield with a focus on health system resiliency.

Andre Bloemink has been a member of Health Emergency Management BC since February 2019. He has been an integral support to the Interior Health Authority (IHA) Emergency Operations Center and regional IHA Clinical Operations during British Columbia summer wildfires 2019 onwards and the 2021 atmospheric river events. Andre is an active member of the Operations Committee of the BC Health Effects of Anomalous Temperatures (BC HEAT) Committee under the BC Center of Disease Control and BC Ministry of Health. He is, lastly, a member of both the provincial Health Emergency Management British Columbia (HEMBC) Inter and Intra Health Authority Relocation and provincial long-term care working groups. Andre brings a broad base of emergency management experience through his 25+ years’ service as an auxiliary firefighter, search and rescue technician and as a past professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. Additionally, Andre is a response team lead and instructor with the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox International, having deployed to disasters in Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.