After suffering with the aftermath of devastating hurricanes in the late 1990s, North Carolina hospitals developed an emergency response plan they hope will see the state through future storms.

"As hospitals, we have a responsibility to care not only for the citizens of the community, but we have the responsibility to know if we are the victim," said Barb Bisset, director of WakeMed's Emergency Services Institute. "We have to know how to manage that."

With the guidance of the North Carolina Hospital Association, hospitals and state emergency management teams formed a network to support disaster relief efforts. At WakeMed, a fleet of vehicles stands ready to respond not only locally, but anywhere in the state. Trailers filled with cots, generators, medical and personal supplies can go anywhere there is a need.

If a hospital is overwhelmed by patients after a disaster, or suffers damage, other hospitals can come together to set up a 400-bed field hospital for immediate care. Plans are in place for evacuating patients to other areas of the state as well.

WakeMed held a practice disaster drill this summer that provided some important lessons for its staff and staff at six participating hospitals, including the challenges in moving critically ill patients.

"We need to know the resources that we have within a 96-hour period of time," said Bisset. "Can we self-sustain, should the community not be able to step in and to help support us?"

North Carolina's plan is a model for the rest of the country, especially areas vulnerable to severe weather. Mississippi and Florida are working to get their state medical assistance teams into place, hopefully before they are needed.