Readiness for local disasters in spotlight

<p>During one point in Wendi Thomas’ recent presentation about local disaster preparedness to the Petaluma Health Care District board, she raised the question, “Are we prepared?”</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>“Yes and no!” said Thomas, a registered nurse and the nurse manager of emergency services at Petaluma Valley Hospital, at the meeting.</p><p>“My mantra is that you can never be totally prepared,” she said this week. “I believe that we are very well prepared, but if you ask anyone in disaster management, they’ll tell you that however well prepared they are, they always can do a better job.</p><p>“Until a disaster comes, you can’t tell if you’re totally prepared, because there are so many caveats.”</p><p>She praised the community’s response to the recent A/H1N1 (swine) flu threat, but said that communications, in general, should be strengthened. </p><p>“We need to give all physicians the same information and the Petaluma Health Center should be better integrated with us and with the county,” she said. </p><p>“When you look at the whole situation, the response went very, very well, but it did expose things we need to do if we have a protracted event,” added Daymon Doss, the PHCD’s executive director. “We need to have a plan that will allow the whole community to self-sustain for 96 hours.”</p><p>Doss lauded Thomas’ presentation.</p><p>“She clearly explained about what is in place, and the situation is better than I thought,” he said. “But health-care providers need to do a better job of communicating with each other about what’s in place.”</p><p>Prompted by challenges occurring during the community’s response to the recent flu virus threat and spurred by Thomas’ presentation, the health care district will facilitate a community forum focused on the capability of health-care providers to respond to emergencies and their ability to cooperate with each other and other local agencies during these situations.</p><p>“Our goal is to have a meeting this summer, well in advance of the upcoming flu season," Doss said. </p><p>Most of Thomas’ recent presentation covered the ways in which Petaluma Valley Hospital has prepared for disasters, although much of it applied to other health-care providers and other city agencies. </p><p>The hospital has a plan in place to self-sustain for 96 hours by providing needed medications, supplies, food, water and space. Two trailers on the PVH grounds contain the supplies.</p><p>“The number of hours needed to self-sustain has jumped from 24 to 48 to 72 to 96, as different situations, such as Hurricane Katrina, have arisen,” Thomas said. “The Petaluma community is prepared to self-sustain for 24 hours, but it has a ways to go to be prepared for 96 hours.”</p><p>In emergencies, PVH can utilize five means of communication in the event of a power outage; use a resource pool, if needed; conduct drills in which each department has its own specific plan; and use the Hospital Incident Command System resources.</p><p>Central to PVH’s preparedness efforts is its Disaster Preparedness Committee, a multidisciplinary effort that is regularly attended by representatives from Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the United States Coast Guard and the Petaluma Fire Department. The committee has monthly conference calls that include other hospitals to work collectively on issues.</p><p>This committee often features guest speakers, and focuses on equipment, policies, drills, internal preparedness and community outreach. It has developed a resource pool of contact numbers for physicians, nurses and staff members. During the recent flu threat, Thomas met with Kathie Powell, executive director of the Petaluma Health Center, to provide her with these contacts.</p><p>After a disaster occurs, PVH schedules meetings, evaluates systems and implements changes to better prepare for future disasters, Thomas said.</p><p>The hospital will participate in the next statewide disaster drill on June 18, and for the first time, will include the health center in it.</p><p>Besides the committee, PVH also prepares for emergencies by conducting local, county and state fire drills; complying with standards set by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; participating on the Sonoma County Healthcare Disaster Committee, Prepare Petaluma and the SJHS task force; and preparing Homeland Security and California Hospital Association training.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>