BACKGROUND: Natural and man-made disasters can have traumatic impacts on the health care system, especially if the system is not prepared to act in a crisis situation. In an intensive care setting, having an emergency plan is especially prudent due to the complexity and severity of the patient population. Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) deliver care to very sick babies, and ideally should have an emergency plan in place should a disaster occur that requires evacuation. This prompts the

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... tion: what can the NICU do to improve their preparedness to respond to disasters? OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of preparedness and response plans of three provincial NICUs in the event of an emergency. DESIGN/METHODS: A survey was distributed to 104 healthcare professionals over three NICUs and consisted of nine questions in a yes/no format designed to evaluate various aspects of an emergency response plan, including known emergency plans, transportation, evacuation, and triage. Responses were anonymous, and responders were only asked to state their role in the NICU and their work site. RESULTS: Response rate was 63.4% (n=66 respondents) including nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and neonatal administrators. 91% of respondents were not aware of any plan or policy detailing emergency evacuation protocols at their site. 78.8% of respondents did not know how to properly transport sick babies requiring additional equipment or ventilators. Over 50% were not aware of specific transport mechanisms, and 66.7% were not aware of any additional supports in place for infants who are unable to be transported. Finally, 95% of respondents were unaware of any plans for the use of staging stations elsewhere in the hospital during emergent situations, and 98.5% were unaware of any provincial protocol to coordinate and use the other NICUs in case of an emergency. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results strongly suggest the need for developing regional and provincial emergency protocols for use in the NICU. A strong proportion of respondents were unaware of any such protocol or emergency response plan, which prompts the need for developing disaster modules and implementing provincial wide standardized disaster training to ensure that these NICUs can be adequately prepared to respond in light of a potential disaster.