Karasakal, O.Karasakal, E.Töreyen, Ö.2025-05-132025-05-1320231751-5254https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIE.2023.10045477https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12416/9740We consider a hierarchical maximal covering location problem (HMCLP) to locate health centres and hospitals so that the maximum demand is covered by two levels of services in a successively inclusive hierarchy. We extend the HMCLP by introducing the partial coverage and a new definition of the referral. The proposed model may enable an informed decision on the healthcare system when dynamic adaptation is required, such as a COVID-19 pandemic. We define the referral as coverage of health centres by hospitals. A hospital may also cover demand through referral. The proposed model is solved optimally for small problems. For large problems, we propose a customised genetic algorithm. Computational study shows that the GA performs well, and the partial coverage substantially affects the optimal solutions. © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessGenetic AlgorithmGradual CoverageHeuristicsHierarchical Maximal Covering Location ProblemPartial CoverageReferralArticle17111514710.1504/EJIE.2023.100454772-s2.0-85147731915Q4Q2