Rising to the challenge: transforming an adult ICU into an adult and pediatric ICU.

Published literature on natural disasters describes lessons learned in preparing for disasters, evacuating patients, and caring for patients in the immediate aftermath. Some disasters, however, require longer-term solutions to best meet the health needs of the community during the recovery from the disaster. This article presents an account of one academic medical center's experience in transforming an existing adult burn intensive care unit into an adult and pediatric burn intensive care unit to meet the needs of a community following a hurricane. The process of training 2 groups of specialty nurses and the success of expanding an adult unit are described.