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Source: http://timesbulletin.com/main.asp?Se...19&TM=5606.901
6/21/2008 12:01:00 AM
Exercise prepares county for outbreak
BY JILL DEWERT
Times Bulletin Multimedia Editor
jdewert@timesbulletin.com
Van Wert County is better prepared for a pandemic following a week of training exercises.
The northwest region of Ohio, which is comprised of 18 counties, was involved in tabletop and functional exercises in preparation for an instance of pandemic flu. All 18 county health departments, emergency management agencies and almost all of the hospitals and in those counties participated.
"It takes a lot of work to coordinate, but we're all in this together," Barb Hoffman, emergency response coordinator for the Van Wert County Health Department, said with an exhausted laugh towards the end of the week.
Each year, local health departments are supposed to hold at least one functional exercise. The training is made possible by grants and other such initiatives.
"This would be during a pandemic influenza, lets say if the bird flu would mutate - a type of flu that we do not have a vaccine for," said Hoffman of this year's focus. "We probably wouldn't have a vaccine for at least six months. It would be a very grand scale - a lot of death, a lot of illness. Any health care facility would breach their surge capacity."
Surge capacity is a health care system's ability to rapidly expand beyond normal services to meet the increased demand for qualified personnel, medical care and public health in the event of bioterrorism or other large-scale public health emergencies or disasters, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
"Wednesday's exercise was really largely hospital-driven. They were besieged with more and more patients - basically pushed to the limits to where they had to close their doors to admissions," said Hoffman of the hypothetical situation.
In such a situation, gravely ill patients or those needing emergency medical attention might be seen in the emergency department, but Hoffman said they could expect to wait six to eight hours.
"We would see an altered standard of care. There would be more care for sick people done at home," said Hoffman.
During a pandemic flu, health officials would most likely make recommendations or orders of things like closing of public gatherings and having people stay home in an effort to limit the spread of the disease.
[/B]"Also depicted in the exercise was gas up to $10 dollars per gallon, 25 to 40 percent of the work force out because they're ill or too afraid to go to work, grocery stores weren't getting their food items in - everything was depicted as being extremely scarce," said Hoffman.[/B]
Some of the exercises completed around the area this past week were functional and others were tabletop. During tabletop exercises, officials sit at a table and talk about the issues and what would be done. In functional exercises, officials actually have to carry out the actions.
"For example, if I needed 20 cases of isolation gowns, I can't just say that I called. I actually have to make that call," said Hoffman. "We make calls to different state agencies. It's more detailed."
Yesterday, hospital officials traveled to Lima to participate in simulating the setup of an alternate care site for an instance of pandemic flu. Three health department officials also went to observe the exercise.
"In a situation when the hospital and physician offices do become overwhelmed, where are the people supposed to go? That's where the alternate care site comes in," said Hoffman. "We have also begun to look at that here locally."
Hoffman added that such preparation is a "brand new concept" for Van Wert County, but believes it is an important initiative.
"It's very important, and not just for pandemic flu, but for any type of public health emergency - anthrax, an outbreak of meningitis. I think a lot of people are still in denial - 'it's never going to happen to us.' But it could be anything," said Hoffman. "It's something we hope we never have to use, but we certainly want to be prepared for it."
6/21/2008 12:01:00 AM
Exercise prepares county for outbreak
BY JILL DEWERT
Times Bulletin Multimedia Editor
jdewert@timesbulletin.com
Van Wert County is better prepared for a pandemic following a week of training exercises.
The northwest region of Ohio, which is comprised of 18 counties, was involved in tabletop and functional exercises in preparation for an instance of pandemic flu. All 18 county health departments, emergency management agencies and almost all of the hospitals and in those counties participated.
"It takes a lot of work to coordinate, but we're all in this together," Barb Hoffman, emergency response coordinator for the Van Wert County Health Department, said with an exhausted laugh towards the end of the week.
Each year, local health departments are supposed to hold at least one functional exercise. The training is made possible by grants and other such initiatives.
"This would be during a pandemic influenza, lets say if the bird flu would mutate - a type of flu that we do not have a vaccine for," said Hoffman of this year's focus. "We probably wouldn't have a vaccine for at least six months. It would be a very grand scale - a lot of death, a lot of illness. Any health care facility would breach their surge capacity."
Surge capacity is a health care system's ability to rapidly expand beyond normal services to meet the increased demand for qualified personnel, medical care and public health in the event of bioterrorism or other large-scale public health emergencies or disasters, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
"Wednesday's exercise was really largely hospital-driven. They were besieged with more and more patients - basically pushed to the limits to where they had to close their doors to admissions," said Hoffman of the hypothetical situation.
In such a situation, gravely ill patients or those needing emergency medical attention might be seen in the emergency department, but Hoffman said they could expect to wait six to eight hours.
"We would see an altered standard of care. There would be more care for sick people done at home," said Hoffman.
During a pandemic flu, health officials would most likely make recommendations or orders of things like closing of public gatherings and having people stay home in an effort to limit the spread of the disease.
[/B]"Also depicted in the exercise was gas up to $10 dollars per gallon, 25 to 40 percent of the work force out because they're ill or too afraid to go to work, grocery stores weren't getting their food items in - everything was depicted as being extremely scarce," said Hoffman.[/B]
Some of the exercises completed around the area this past week were functional and others were tabletop. During tabletop exercises, officials sit at a table and talk about the issues and what would be done. In functional exercises, officials actually have to carry out the actions.
"For example, if I needed 20 cases of isolation gowns, I can't just say that I called. I actually have to make that call," said Hoffman. "We make calls to different state agencies. It's more detailed."
Yesterday, hospital officials traveled to Lima to participate in simulating the setup of an alternate care site for an instance of pandemic flu. Three health department officials also went to observe the exercise.
"In a situation when the hospital and physician offices do become overwhelmed, where are the people supposed to go? That's where the alternate care site comes in," said Hoffman. "We have also begun to look at that here locally."
Hoffman added that such preparation is a "brand new concept" for Van Wert County, but believes it is an important initiative.
"It's very important, and not just for pandemic flu, but for any type of public health emergency - anthrax, an outbreak of meningitis. I think a lot of people are still in denial - 'it's never going to happen to us.' But it could be anything," said Hoffman. "It's something we hope we never have to use, but we certainly want to be prepared for it."