A Major Flow Generator in a Metropolitan Area—The Case of Le Havre, France

The Le Havre Hospital Group (GHH) operates multiple hospitals that deliver a wide range of quality health services within a specific health zone called the Estuary, a metropolitan area of 450,000 residents surrounding Le Havre, France. Currently, the GHH has two major hospitals 6 miles (10 kilometers) apart: Flaubert, a historic hospital in the old town center, and the J. Monod Hospital, built at the periphery of the city in order to meet the demands of urban expansion. However, due to the lack of physicians and the present national health policy that requires a high concentration of care and level of resources, operating multiple locations has been considered wasteful and confusing. To improve efficiency and accessibility, the GHH decided to relocate the medical, surgical, and obstetrics services to the new medical center at J. Monod Hospital in 2008.

This map illustrates the location of the J. Monod Hospital and its proximity to Flaubert Hospital, as well as the accessibility times (in minutes) to each hospital. GIS was used to map the locations of facilities, road network, and population density. Accessibility studies were undertaken to show how access times to J. Monod Hospital were kept low due to its open area location and nearby major transportation routes. In contrast, the dense road networks around Flaubert Hospital contribute to high access times. The major restructuring includes the transfer of approximately 600 health-care professionals to a new center, as well as an increase in hospitalization, consultation, and logistical flow of daily visitors to the site.

Courtesy of Le Havre Hospital.