For Immediate ReleaseContact: Daron Cowley801-442-2834[email protected]
UTAH HOSPITALS PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES DURING THE OLYMPICS
Salt Lake City, Utah, January 21, 2002 - When the 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City during February, hospitals operated by Intermountain Health Care (IHC) will be ready for many types of emergencies. IHC is the medical services provider for the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to one of IHC's top emergency preparedness experts, hospital emergency plans to deal with disasters have already been in place for decades.
"All hospitals are required to have a disaster plan in place, tested, and ready to go," said Mike Rawson, IHC director of safety and security. "These plans have been in place for many years and are continually updated."
At least twice each year, local hospitals hold disaster drills, often involving other local agencies, such as the fire department and paramedics. The drills can simulate an accident with mass casualties, a chemical spill, or epidemic.
Hospitals are occasionally called upon to activate their disaster plan. In 1999, when a tornado ripped through downtown Salt Lake City, IHC's LDS Hospital received an alert from agencies to prepare for injured individuals, and the plan was put into action. Radio pages were immediately sent out to get additional personnel to the emergency room, and extra supplies and equipment were put in place prior to the arrival of the first patient. A total of 18 patients were seen in the next few hours by the emergency room staff, and everyone got the care they needed.
In August of 2001, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo was called upon to activate its emergency plan when 20 individuals at the Seven Peaks water park in Provo experienced respiratory problems from leaking hydrochloride fumes.
In November, 2001, IHC sent a team of six individuals from Primary Children's Medical Center and LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo back to the September 11 disaster sites in New York and Washington, D.C. The team was able to visit with staff from hospitals near the sites and learn from their experience.
"After hearing what their experience had been and seeing the disaster sites first hand, and then looking at the plans we have in place, we feel very good about our preparations," said Ann Allen, emergency preparedness director with IHC.
"The New York hospitals did a great job in providing care, but what they found was difficulty in communicating with all the different agencies involved in the rescue," said Allen. "Many agencies used different radio frequencies and system, and that hampered communication."
In Utah, a new communications system, the Utah Communications Agency, has been phased in over the past several years so different agencies can now talk with each other - and with hospitals.
IHC representatives visited with medical staff from hospitals in Atlanta after the 1996 bombing during the Olympics. The Atlanta hospitals recommended that if you have a good plan, stick with it, and continue to train the employees to be ready to implement it when necessary.
IHC has also had representatives attend meetings for the past three years with the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command. IHC has been closely coordinating plans with local, county, and state agencies to be ready in case of an emergency situation.
"The Wasatch Front of Utah may be better prepared than other areas to deal with bioterrorism issues," says Rawson. "Several hospitals already have programs and facilities to provide treatment for chemical exposure incidents, due to the proximity of the Tooele, Utah facility, which houses military chemical weapons. These programs and preparations were already in place long before the Olympics."
If there were to be an introduction of biological agents in the area, local, state, and federal agencies would all be involved. In the case of anthrax, the federal government has stockpiled antibiotics and other drugs that can be sent anywhere in the U.S. within just a few hours.
"We hope that the Olympics are held with a minimum of injuries or illnesses," said Rawson. "But if there is an emergency, we want everyone to know that plans are in place to provide the help people will need."
IHC is a charitable, community-owned, nonprofit health care organization based in Salt Lake City that serves the health needs of Utah and Idaho residents. The IHC system includes health insurance plans, hospitals, clinics, and affiliated physicians. Last year, in more than 100,000 cases, IHC hospitals and associated clinics provided $33 million in charitable assistance. A central part of IHC's mission is to provide quality medical care to persons with a medical need, regardless of ability to pay.
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