Hospitals in September 11 Disaster area respond quickly - HFMA News - Brief Article

Healthcare Financial Management, Nov, 2001

Hospitals around the country have developed plans for providing medical care to persons injured in a disaster. On September 11, hospitals near New York and Washington, D.C., were quick to put those plans into action.

Manuel J. "Manny" Evans, FHFMA, CPA, vice president, finance, for Community Medical Center Health System (CMC) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, said CMC was told to be ready to receive victims of the World Trade Center disaster. "Both clinical and nonclinical personnel began implementing CMC's disaster plan," said Evans. "Resources were moved to staging areas in preparation for triaging victims." Evans noted that Scranton's proximity to New York made CMC a likely destination for the expected overflow of patients from New York City hospitals.

CMC stayed on alert for about two and a half days. Linda McAndrew, MSN, CRNP, CCRN, chairperson of emergency preparedness at CMC, said the hospital frequently was asked by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) to predict how many beds it could have available within a specified number of hours.

According to McAndrew, an organ harvest had been scheduled for September 11 at CMC, and the nationwide ban on air traffic that day caused concerns that the organs might not reach their intended recipients before deteriorating. Fortunately, the hospital was able to receive clearance from the Federal government to transport the organs by helicopter to their destinations.

Holy Name Hospital, Tea-neck, New Jersey, also went on alert as soon as the extent of the disaster became apparent, according to its CFO, Gregory M. Adams, FHFMA. Adams said that he was attending a meeting of HFMA's Region 3 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. The meeting was adjourned quickly so that members could return to their hospitals.

Adams related that Holy Name immediately cancelled all elective procedures, prepared a triage area and the emergency department, and dispatched a team of emergency medical technicians to the designated New Jersey triage site. He pointed out that the New Jersey Hospital Association and New Jersey Department of Health coordinated much of the disaster-alert activity among New Jersey hospitals.

Holy Name cared for about 30 patients affected by the World Trade Center attack, most of whom walked into the hospital seeking treatment for minor respiratory or orthopedic injuries. "I think everyone initially felt that we would receive a fair number of patients who required admission, given our proximity to the city," said Adams. "Initial hopes were that people might have survived in some areas of the buildings. Unfortunately, after the second day, that hope began to wane."

Adams also noted that Holy Name soon began to offer counseling and support services for both the hospital staff and community members who were emotionally devastated by the loss of life in the nearby city.

John J. Dalton, FHFMA, vice president of marketing and sales for The Revenue Maximization Group, Inc., Eatontown, New Jersey, declared his pride in how area hospitals, even those currently experiencing severe financial challenges, responded to the tragedy. "All of us can be justifiably proud of the instantaneous and overwhelming response of local hospitals and healthcare professionals to a disaster of unprecedented proportions," Dalton asserted.