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Hurricane Irene Sets Hospitals Scrambling to Prepare

 |  By Margaret@example.com  
   August 26, 2011

As Hurricane Irene churns up the Atlantic Coast threatening communities from North Carolina to New England, hospitals in the storm's path are working to finalize their plans for keeping their facilities safe and operational.

The Category 3 storm is expected to dump as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas.

Federal and state regulations require hospitals to have disaster plans in place. And small community hospitals and large urban health systems approach emergency planning in much the same way: they secure the facility, order supplies, get staff in place, and wait out the storm.

As of Thursday, here's how some hospitals were bracing for Irene:

University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Greenville, NC

The eight-hospital system has checked it blood supply to make sure it can go at least three days without a delivery. It is also moving its emergency response helicopters to an inland location. Beth Atkins, a spokesperson for the system, said all employees are on standby and every department in its hospitals has been asked to look at staffing needs through the weekend and into Wednesday of next week.

All gas meds, such as oxygen, will be topped off on Friday. And the pharmacy has stocked up and can run seven days without deliveries.

Albemarle Hospital, Elizabeth City, NC

Located just an hour from the Outer Banks, where the eye of Hurricane Irene is expected Saturday evening, Albemarle Hospital is the only hospital in a 45 mile radius and plays an important role in its community. Unlike hospitals in more urban areas, the 140-bed rural facility is often a gathering place for the community when a disaster hits.

Disabled and electricity-dependent residents come to the hospital to keep their oxygen tanks and other medical machinery running. Families of patients gather at the facility.

Patrick Detwiler, director of marketing and public relations for the hospital, said the facility orders extra supplies and food for the community. Many supplies come from other parts of North Carolina. To avoid transport problems, the hospital has stockpiled enough food and other supplies to go seven days without deliveries. In addition to clinical staff the hospital will also house housekeeping staff during the hurricane.

Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Salisbury, MD

This 363-bed hospital has an emergency operations team that has been meeting this week and will work throughout the weekend monitoring the weather and coordinating with state and local emergency management officials.

The medical center has secured its grounds to be sure there's no signage or furniture that could become airborne in high winds. A back-up generator was expected on Thursday and a 6,000-gallon potable water tanker will arrive on Friday. A 600-gallon pump to flush water from low lying areas will also be delivered on Friday. An inventory of linens and food supplies was performed and enough supplies to extend into next week were ordered.

Bayhealth Medical Center, Dover, DE

Bayhealth Medical Center expects Hurricane Irene to hit its hospitals in Dover and Milford with 75 to 100 mile per hour winds sometime Saturday night. The brunt of the storm should be out of the area by Sunday morning.

The system is required by its accreditation agency to have a plan in place to sustain itself for four days. Mike Metzing, director of plan operations for the hospital system, explained that inventories of materials, linens, medicine and food supplies have been completed and suppliers have been notified what the system will need through the beginning of next week. "Most hospitals work on a just-in-time schedule for supplies so finding storage space for all of the extra items has been a challenge."

Same-day surgeries were expected to continue through Friday but elective surgeries requiring a hospital stay have been cancelled.

Physicians have been reviewing patient records to see what patients can be discharged before the storm hits. Beginning at 6 PM on Saturday, hospital staff will begin staying at the facilities to make sure patient care continues at typical levels. A trauma team and hospitalists will also remain at the system's hospitals. An onsite daycare facility that can accommodate 30 children will be available for staff members.

North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital, Great Neck, NY

This 15-hospital system anticipates a direct hit by Hurricane Irene at all of its facilities sometime Saturday night. Scott Strauss, corporate director for security and emergency management for the system, said his team has been planning since Monday for the storm. With so many hospitals to consider, Strauss must be prepared for anything, including possible evacuations at some of the system's facilities located in flood zones.

Straus said the system's emergency center is up and running for about 11 hours a day. That will extend to 24 hours beginning Saturday. He said his team is preparing for power disruptions – the system will use generators – that could extend through Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

North Shore-LIJ has hospitals in three municipalities. That means Strauss must connect with three different governments for electricity and other emergency services.

Although the system has assessed it needs in terms of supplies, linens and food Strauss said there are storage issues. He will try to coordinate deliveries as close as possible to when the supplies, etc. will be needed.

See Also:
How to Recover Health Data After Disaster
Health Data Recovery: 5 Places to Search for Lost Data
5 Must-Have Provisions in a Data Recovery Contract

 

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Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
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