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Government entities scrambled to keep roads passable and maintain safety during the heavy blizzard that pounded southeast Kansas on Tuesday.
But enclosed within its steel and concrete wall, Via Christi Hospital and Girard Medical Center functioned pretty much as normal. Officials began planning for the storm several days ago, and said steps are in place in case the hospital loses power or communication lines. That includes determining which staffers will be able to work and where they will stay if stranded overnight, which services to keep operational, among others.
Karry Moore, emergency preparedness coordinator for southeast Kansas regional hospitals, oversees emergency preparedness for 14 hospitals in the region. Moore said the hospital’s generators are tested monthly and were recently upgraded. Her staff keeps enough fuel to run for up to a week. But that doesn’t mean they don’t try to conserve in an emergency.
“We would have to be really selective about what we plug in,” Moore said, adding that only essential services would be powered. “We have an amazing engineering department here.”
She said the hospital also has multiple options for communication with authorities and other hospitals should the land lines and internet go down.
“We have handheld radios that go to the first responders within a 30-mile radius,” Moore said. “We also have an 800 radio so we can get to other hospitals and first responders. We have satellite phones and can make emergency calls on cell towers if they’re overloaded. And there are things like Magic Jack, voice-over IP calling, and pneumatic tube calling.”
Girard Medical Center CEO Kenny Boyd said his hospital functions on a contingency plan that is nearly identical to Via Christi’s. He said the hospital’s safety disaster safety committee met Monday, and that administration had contacted suppliers to bring in enough extra food to last for the rest of week.
There also was an additional delivery of linen, Boyd said, and staff made sure the generators had enough fuel. The hospital also makes concessions for employees to stay overnight or to have transportation to and from work with a hospital vehicle.
“Our inpatient care is staffed as normal,” Boyd said. “A lot of our plans are very similar.”
Hospitals can’t function without staff, and Moore said Via Christi maintains a full staff whenever it can, even in a blizzard. Starting on Monday hospital officials asked for volunteers who would possibly be able to stay overnight if needed.
Government entities scrambled to keep roads passable and maintain safety during the heavy blizzard that pounded southeast Kansas on Tuesday.
But enclosed within its steel and concrete wall, Via Christi Hospital and Girard Medical Center functioned pretty much as normal. Officials began planning for the storm several days ago, and said steps are in place in case the hospital loses power or communication lines. That includes determining which staffers will be able to work and where they will stay if stranded overnight, which services to keep operational, among others.
Karry Moore, emergency preparedness coordinator for southeast Kansas regional hospitals, oversees emergency preparedness for 14 hospitals in the region. Moore said the hospital’s generators are tested monthly and were recently upgraded. Her staff keeps enough fuel to run for up to a week. But that doesn’t mean they don’t try to conserve in an emergency.
“We would have to be really selective about what we plug in,” Moore said, adding that only essential services would be powered. “We have an amazing engineering department here.”
She said the hospital also has multiple options for communication with authorities and other hospitals should the land lines and internet go down.
“We have handheld radios that go to the first responders within a 30-mile radius,” Moore said. “We also have an 800 radio so we can get to other hospitals and first responders. We have satellite phones and can make emergency calls on cell towers if they’re overloaded. And there are things like Magic Jack, voice-over IP calling, and pneumatic tube calling.”
Girard Medical Center CEO Kenny Boyd said his hospital functions on a contingency plan that is nearly identical to Via Christi’s. He said the hospital’s safety disaster safety committee met Monday, and that administration had contacted suppliers to bring in enough extra food to last for the rest of week.
There also was an additional delivery of linen, Boyd said, and staff made sure the generators had enough fuel. The hospital also makes concessions for employees to stay overnight or to have transportation to and from work with a hospital vehicle.
“Our inpatient care is staffed as normal,” Boyd said. “A lot of our plans are very similar.”
Hospitals can’t function without staff, and Moore said Via Christi maintains a full staff whenever it can, even in a blizzard. Starting on Monday hospital officials asked for volunteers who would possibly be able to stay overnight if needed.
“We talked about the expectations of the storm and asked them to make preparations and come in early or the night before,” Moore said, adding that staff sometimes are asked to bring their own sheets and towels if they plan to stay overnight, and that they met two or three times to take stock of the situation.
“We also look at a census and take stock of how many patients we have, whether there are extra beds and cots, and do we need to close off a meeting room. We’ll prioritize the cots, which ones are better for patients. Some other employees are staying locally.”
In the event of power failure, Moore continued, the staff has procedures to begin cutting down on power usage and saving battery life. That includes turning off non-essential computers using glow sticks if flashlight batteries run down.
“We can use them to mark patients, and if there’s a (chemical) leak,” Moore said. “They don’t cause a spark.”
As far as medical services, Moore said there is a protocol for that as well.
“Emergencies are done as quick as possible,” she said. “Other things like classes, home health and wound care have been canceled. It’s more dangerous to come into to the hospital than to take those classes. The emergency room is fully operational.”
Moore said the best part of her job is looking at every day items and being resourceful.
“I call it McGyverizing it,” she laughed. “How would he fix this? With duct tape and a stapler.”
