Workers prepare to sandbag in a building in Battery Park near the Hudson River in New York. Two hospitals closed as Hurricane Sandy threatened to disrupt services.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)
Five sets of parents and their newborns made their first journey
together in ambulances when Hurricane Sandy forced them to be evacuated
Sundayfrom the New York Downtown Hospital in lower New York to a Bronx
hospital on higher ground.
Montefiore Medical Center took in the
five families, setting up quarters for them to spend the night together,
as well as 10 adults who were also being cared for at Downtown
Hospital. All the patients at Downtown Hospital were transported to
hospitals in the New York area. The VA New York Harbor Healthcare System
also closed. Floodwaters could jeopardize getting supplies and energy
into that area of the city.
"The moms and babies are doing fine,''
says Susan Green-Lorenzen, senior vice president of operations at
Montefiore. "We made sure the dads had a place to stay, too. This was
done so they'd have a safe transition home, not because they had health
problems. We expect them to leave the hospital today or tomorrow."
Montefiore also proceeded with elective surgeries Monday and expects to follow the same operating procedures Tuesday.
"We
encourage patients to discuss safety issues with their physicians,''
Green-Lorenzen says. "Most of our patients went ahead with their
surgeries and kept their appointments today."
Hospitals are
required to develop hazard-vulnerability analyses and plans, according
to Jennifer Schleman, media relations director of the American Hospital
Association. Once a potential emergency is identified, hospitals will
implement their emergency management, taking into account the following:
Supply chain. Can foods and medical supplies reach the hospital?
Power source. If there is a loss of electricity, what is the plan to resupply?
Staffing levels.
The availability of physicians and other staff over an extended period
of time (and the availability of relief staff) is outlined.
Montefiore
Medical Center ran a shuttle to pick up staff members and planned to
ensure the families got their babies home safely as Hurricane Sandy
winds bore down on the area.
"We wonder if any of the babies will be named Sandy,'' Green-Lorenzen says.
USA Today