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Health officials prepare for bird flu crisis
Sunday, September 24, 2006
By ANGELA CARBONE
acarbone@repub.com
WEST SPRINGFIELD - The city's Board of Health is preparing to tackle bird flu, should it arrive.
Last week, the World Health Organization announced that it still lacks half the funds it needs to help countries fight bird flu, as more human cases are expected in the coming months.
Experts fear that the virus, which so far has been linked only to contact with infected birds, will mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
The local board is considering what the city should do to be prepared to respond to any pandemic.
Board member Gerald W. Stadnicki took information to the Board of Health to consider. He is director of safety and security at Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
He said there is a movement among health care professionals to establish programs for handling pandemics.
Paul Cote Jr., the state commissioner of public health, said in June that an outbreak of avian flu could infect 30 percent of the population of Massachusetts and kill 20,000 people. The state is planning for a scenario in which 23,560 hospital beds would be needed.
Hospitals will still need to care for non-flu patients, so they will be able to admit only flu patients who require critical care. The Board of Health needs to plan a specialty care unit to take care of residents who are not critically ill, particularly since there is no hospital in the community, said Stadnicki.
"I would like to see, as a board member and a citizen, that there be something on this side of the river and not all in Springfield," he said.
The state is charging local boards to find locations for emergency influenza specialty centers.
"The state will help find staff and equipment, and even beds," said Stadnicki.
Some possible sites are hotels and motels which already have beds, food facilities, and linens, he said. Travelers filling hotel beds during a pandemic is not likely.
"In a pandemic, I don't think you'll find many people traveling leaf-peeping," he said.
Another location could be the city's schools. If there is an epidemic of large proportions, the schools are likely to be closed, Stadnicki said.
"I would like to see the school nurses put to work on this with a medical reserve program that we could set up," he said.
The grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, after the current fair, is another possibility for a site.
Health Director Jeanne M. Galloway said that four student nurses from Elms College will be working with the Health Department in the fall. She said she may assign the writing of the city's emergency response as one of their projects.
The state Legislature is still considering how to fund the emergency care scenario.
Stadnicki said, "It's a big task. We'd have to bring in the emergency planning people in West Springfield; we'd have to bring in the school system. This is just the first step."
More From The Republican | Subscribe To The Republican
Health officials prepare for bird flu crisis
Sunday, September 24, 2006
By ANGELA CARBONE
acarbone@repub.com
WEST SPRINGFIELD - The city's Board of Health is preparing to tackle bird flu, should it arrive.
Last week, the World Health Organization announced that it still lacks half the funds it needs to help countries fight bird flu, as more human cases are expected in the coming months.
Experts fear that the virus, which so far has been linked only to contact with infected birds, will mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
The local board is considering what the city should do to be prepared to respond to any pandemic.
Board member Gerald W. Stadnicki took information to the Board of Health to consider. He is director of safety and security at Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
He said there is a movement among health care professionals to establish programs for handling pandemics.
Paul Cote Jr., the state commissioner of public health, said in June that an outbreak of avian flu could infect 30 percent of the population of Massachusetts and kill 20,000 people. The state is planning for a scenario in which 23,560 hospital beds would be needed.
Hospitals will still need to care for non-flu patients, so they will be able to admit only flu patients who require critical care. The Board of Health needs to plan a specialty care unit to take care of residents who are not critically ill, particularly since there is no hospital in the community, said Stadnicki.
"I would like to see, as a board member and a citizen, that there be something on this side of the river and not all in Springfield," he said.
The state is charging local boards to find locations for emergency influenza specialty centers.
"The state will help find staff and equipment, and even beds," said Stadnicki.
Some possible sites are hotels and motels which already have beds, food facilities, and linens, he said. Travelers filling hotel beds during a pandemic is not likely.
"In a pandemic, I don't think you'll find many people traveling leaf-peeping," he said.
Another location could be the city's schools. If there is an epidemic of large proportions, the schools are likely to be closed, Stadnicki said.
"I would like to see the school nurses put to work on this with a medical reserve program that we could set up," he said.
The grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, after the current fair, is another possibility for a site.
Health Director Jeanne M. Galloway said that four student nurses from Elms College will be working with the Health Department in the fall. She said she may assign the writing of the city's emergency response as one of their projects.
The state Legislature is still considering how to fund the emergency care scenario.
Stadnicki said, "It's a big task. We'd have to bring in the emergency planning people in West Springfield; we'd have to bring in the school system. This is just the first step."
