tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
In the 2009 H1N1 flu epidemic while public health officials across the United States were contending with shortages of basic supplies like ventilator masks, Wisconsin health authorities were able smoothly to weather the storm thanks to its stockpiles of protective clothing, emergency planning, and advanced training
In the 2009 H1N1 flu epidemic while public health officials across the United States were contending with shortages of basic supplies like ventilator masks, Wisconsin health authorities were able to smoothly weather the storm thanks to its stockpiles of protective clothing, emergency planning, and advanced training.
?We didn?t have a real severe problem with protective clothing, surgical masks, like other parts of the country did,? said David Seebart, the preparedness program?s project manager for Northeastern Wisconsin. ?Everybody was on back order nationally. We were lucky enough to have a supply ahead of time to weather the event until after it was over.?
The stockpiles of protective clothing come as part of Wisconsin?s Hospital Emergency Preparedness program, which began following the 9/11 attacks as a way to coordinate a unified hospital response in the event of a major natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The program initially focused on biological weapons and other mass casualty attacks by ensuring that hospitals had adequate amounts of decontamination materials and other protective equipment.
?We were afraid when we took a look at each individual facility as a region and as a state. We thought, ?What if we get burn victims or natural disaster victims or even natural disease outbreaks? Do we have the ventilator capacity??? said Steve Pelch, director of safety and security at St. Vincent and St. Mary?s hospitals. ?And the answer was, ?No.??
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http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/wisconsin-hospitals-ahead-curve
In the 2009 H1N1 flu epidemic while public health officials across the United States were contending with shortages of basic supplies like ventilator masks, Wisconsin health authorities were able to smoothly weather the storm thanks to its stockpiles of protective clothing, emergency planning, and advanced training.
?We didn?t have a real severe problem with protective clothing, surgical masks, like other parts of the country did,? said David Seebart, the preparedness program?s project manager for Northeastern Wisconsin. ?Everybody was on back order nationally. We were lucky enough to have a supply ahead of time to weather the event until after it was over.?
The stockpiles of protective clothing come as part of Wisconsin?s Hospital Emergency Preparedness program, which began following the 9/11 attacks as a way to coordinate a unified hospital response in the event of a major natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The program initially focused on biological weapons and other mass casualty attacks by ensuring that hospitals had adequate amounts of decontamination materials and other protective equipment.
?We were afraid when we took a look at each individual facility as a region and as a state. We thought, ?What if we get burn victims or natural disaster victims or even natural disease outbreaks? Do we have the ventilator capacity??? said Steve Pelch, director of safety and security at St. Vincent and St. Mary?s hospitals. ?And the answer was, ?No.??
...
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/wisconsin-hospitals-ahead-curve