The Eaton fire broke out in Altadena, Calif., on the morning of Jan. 8, just eight miles from City of Hope's main campus in Duarte, Calif., where about 230 cancer patients were hospitalized.
As the fire spread, multiple staff members, including faculty and physician leaders, arrived in the middle of the night to care for patients, some even after being evacuated from their homes.
"That combination of how scary the moment was, combined with the inspiration of people truly putting patients first and living that value, was in full effect in the middle of the night," CEO Robert Stone told Becker's on Jan. 13.
One physician and his family were evacuated after the fire reached their backyard. After checking into a hotel, they all arrived at the hospital — the physician to care for his patients, and his wife and adult child offering to volunteer in case an evacuation occurred.
"These are things you really don't know how people are going to react until the crisis actually hits," Mr. Stone said. "And to have them lean in like that is incredibly rewarding."
City of Hope's response
The ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County were declared a public health emergency on Jan. 10, having killed at least 24 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. As of Jan. 15, the Palisades and Eaton fires were 19% and 45% contained, respectively.
When the fire near City of Hope broke out, the system responded with a two-step approach, starting with patient care and safety. As the fire spread in the direction of the hospital, leadership activated emergency protocols to be prepared for a possible evacuation.
Cancer care, however, presents its own challenges, Mr. Stone said, noting that many patients are on clinical trials or receiving therapies manufactured on site.
Within 24 hours, it became clear to leadership that evacuation would not be necessary, but staff remained diligent due to embers traveling several miles in the wind. Team members continuously monitored the campus for potential spot fires, he said.
Outpatient procedures were either canceled or redirected to City of Hope Orange County in Irvine, Calif., which was not threatened by the fires. As of Jan. 13, City of Hope had caught up on all patient appointments delayed because of the Eaton fire, and Mr. Stone credited that accomplishment to staff and physicians working extended hours and weekends.
Supporting team members
"The second phase is, 'How do we care for people?" Mr. Stone said. "How do we provide psychosocial support for our patients who may be worried about their families? And how do we care for our employees and team members?'"
More than 300 employees and faculty members were evacuated, with about 100 living within the burn area and around 30 losing their homes.
City of Hope responded by assisting employees with transitional hotel accommodations and partnering with a relocation firm to help those who lost homes find long-term housing.
Along with crisis care for child or adult dependents, psychosocial services for employees and their families, and advisory services to help staff navigate government resources such as FEMA assistance, the system is making an emergency assistance fund available and is guaranteeing continued pay for employees whose jobs were temporarily paused.
Advice for leaders
Mr. Stone offered three recommendations for healthcare leaders navigating crises.
First, it is helpful to think through the protocols and questions that will need to be addressed before a crisis hits, he said, emphasizing that City of Hope's established emergency plans helped staff respond with confidence.
Second, leaders should keep putting the important things first. For City of Hope, it was the cancer patients.
"The wildfires are incredibly disruptive, but they're disruptive to people who, in many instances, are fighting for their lives against a terrible disease, and you need to keep that front and center, because those individuals are anxious," he said. "Those individuals are going through their own fight."
Third, it is important to continue to stress the importance of relationships and how culture fits into that.
"Part of why [team members] rose to the occasion is because they didn't want to let their colleagues down," he said. "And that's not something that you develop in the moment. That's a culture that serves you well in a crisis."
Mr. Stone also expressed gratitude and pride in City of Hope's workforce.
"Like Los Angeles itself, City of Hope is an incredibly resilient place. While we've become a national organization, our roots have been in Southern California for more than a century, and we're part of the fabric of this community," he said. "I was able to tell our entire 13,000-person employee base just how proud I was of them that they came together for each other and for our patients."