Background and purpose: Hospitals are needed to have enough readiness for apt reaction toward unexpected disasters, therefore, it is important to identify developed healthcare centers in different regions. This study aimed to investigate the developmental levels of educational hospitals for facing unexpected disasters in Mazandaran Province, Iran.

Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional study in Mazandaran educational hospitals in 2015, 56 individuals including the heads, chief managers and the officials for unexpected crisis were selected via purposive sampling. Data was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 222 items. Data analysis was performed by numerical taxonomy.

Results: The participants were 88.5% males (n=23) and the mean age was 46.33±4.47 years. The educational level was Master in 5 (19%), while 21 (81%) hold a PhD degree. Results showed that Imam Khomeini hospital was relatively developed (0≤Fi≤0.5), Bu Ali, Fateme Zahra, Zare, Ayatollah Ruhani, and Amirkola pediatric hospitals were developing (0.5≤Fi≤0.7), and Razi and Shahid Beheshti hospitals were undeveloped (0.7≤Fi).

Conclusion: This study showed that most of the educational hospitals in Mazandaran Province are in inappropriate developmental state for facing the unexpected disasters. So, policy-makers must identify developed healthcare centers and enhance all medical centers for confronting the unexpected disasters.