In the next few weeks, Hawaii's 19 hospitals will be taking inventory in a way they never have before. Hospitals ready attack response
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comIf there were to be a biological or chemical attack here, "we want to make sure what's on shelf in hospitals can handle the initial surge," said Toby Clairmont, emergency program manager for the Health Care Association of Hawaii, the professional group for hospitals and nursing homes.
He and Rich Meiers, president and chief executive officer of the organization, summarized what was agreed upon this week at a meeting of about 40 of its members.
Member hospitals expressed confidence in their ability to handle large amounts of ordinary casualties but said they need more focus on the particulars of biochemical treatments, Meiers said.
Needed are more protective clothing for hospital workers, more decontamination equipment to help people stricken by chemical agents, and more of the drugs to treat victims.
"All the hospitals have some (needed) equipment now," Clairmont said, "but they want to buy more."
Many of the drugs are common antibiotics, but they must be made available in a quantity and packaging that lends itself to mass treatments, Clairmont said.
A quantity of the drugs must be available in hospital pharmacies for first response, he said.
A National Pharmaceutical Stockpile would provide backup drugs and equipment, delivered by military jet if need be.
Terrorist attacks are classified as Level 1, affecting one to 500 people; Level 2, affecting 500 to 5,000 people; and Level 3, affecting 5,000 people to 10 percent of the population.
Even the possibility of such numbers changes everything. "We need to be very efficient," Clairmont said.
For example, if there were a chemical attack, affected people might start pouring in the door of a hospital, contaminating it and unsuspecting staffers, he said.
"We need the ability to lock down facilities" and control who goes where, for the protection of the greatest number of people, he said. "We need to protect our perimeters, staff and facilities from any sabotage."
Training is another key element. In the past, hospital staff were not gung-ho about attending biochemical response training sessions. "People are very receptive right now," Clairmont said. "They realize it's a possibility."
Several Oahu hospitals already have centers of excellence in a particular area: Straub's is burns, Kapiolani's is pediatrics, Queen's is trauma and Kaiser's is chemicals.
In a small incident, people would be routed to the hospital already accustomed to that kind of patient, Clairmont said. "But if there were an attack on thousands of people, everybody (each hospital) would have to pick up some of that load."
Future meetings will total up the cost of what is needed and plan seeking federal emergency money to pay for it.
"Currently we can't procure ... any respirators or protective suits" because suppliers have been wiped out, Clairmont said. He expects manufacturers will step up production to meet demand.
Federal aid over the past few years has been focused on first-responders, such as firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians, Meiers said. Now it is the hospitals' turn.
