Ready for anything? Hospitals take the lead in preparing for terrorist attacks.

• Author: Kronemyer, Bob
• Position: Hospitals & Clinics - Emergency preparedness

The attacks of 9/11 were a definite wakeup call for the roughly 150 hospitals in Indiana. While the state and federal governments began examining emergency preparedness in a new light, Indiana's hospitals didn't wait for mandates, instead choosing a proactive approach in preparing for a bioterrorist or terrorist attack.

According to Spencer Grover, vice president of the Indiana Hospital & Health Association in Indianapolis, even before 9/11 "generally, there were things in place. As a former hospital CEO, I know that we had disaster drills and disaster plans, although probably not as thorough of plans for weapons of mass destruction or bioterrorism."

Since 9/11, "I think there has been a lot more assessment and planning--both by the individual hospital and the hospital and the community," Grover says. Relationship development has been emphasized. "By developing relationships with contacts in the community on a daily basis, we can more easily switch to a disaster mode," Grover notes.

These valuable contacts include the local health department, the Emergency Management Agency, emergency medical societies, ambulance associations and fire departments. "Enhanced communication leads to better coordination," Grover says.

Long-term goals shared by all the parties center on early recognition and a robust response to disaster. "There needs to be a lot of communication statewide," Grover observes. "It is also going to be expensive to build extra capacity, such as providing off-site areas to take care of the overflow of patients who require hospitalization."

Each of 10 regions in Indiana has been asked to make available 500 additional beds. "Schools, old hotels, nursing homes, psychiatric facilities and rehabilitation hospitals are being considered," Grover says. "It helps if these centers already have oxygen supplies, beds and equipment." Some existing patients may be moved to less acute-care settings and replaced by more critical patients.

"The major area that we are investigating is expanding our decontamination facility with more showers in order to accommodate a greater number of patients," says Keith Kahre, emergency medical services and security coordinator at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville. The 500-bed hospital will likely enlarge its decontamination facility in the emergency-room department. "But it will all depend on the amount of grant money we receive from the federal government."

St. Mary's is also studying how its air quality is...