Positioning and Optimized Allocation of Transfer Points, Hospitals and Emergency Services Centers to Organize a Crisis Relief Chain, Assuming Screening of Injuries

To help the injured during the crisis, the planning must begin before the crisis. The aim of this study is to provide a model for locating and optimally allocating transfer points, relief centers and hospitals during an earthquake to help the injured including screening, first aid services and transfer to the facility. Quantitative modeling through the presentation of the mathematical model is used in this paper. For this purpose, the mixed integer, single and double-objective mathematical programming models are presented. The single-objective model seeks to minimize the injured transmission time, and the double-objective model minimizes the fines due to the failure in transferring the injured as well as minimizing the time. The models are applicable based on two approaches of locating and optimal allocation in a 6-Richter earthquake with fewer injuries and based on the selection of a limited number of facilities and optimal allocation approach in the 7-Richter earthquake with a large number of injuries and the use of total capacity of the facilities. Models were applied based on the information of south-central districts of Tehran including districts 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 19. Transfer points, relief centers and selected hospitals in each model, manner and degree of the allocation of the injured to these points were specified. To provide proper relief in real conditions, adding relief centers to the problem due to the large number of injuries against hospitals capacities, the screening of the injured, the provision of outpatient treatment services at the transfer point and rejection of the injured in Hospitals are among the basic assumptions that should be considered in the models. Moreover, unbalanced distribution of hospitals in the city and the lack of basic infrastructure should be resolved before a possible crisis.