SYRACUSE - Flood. Fire. An infectious disease. A bioterrorism attack. The new infirmary at the New York State Fair was ready for it all.
Nearly one million people attended the fair this year, and though it was set up to provide first-aid care, the infirmary was also designed with a greater purpose - to provide innovative hospital capacity in the event of natural or human-made disasters.
With little turnaround time, the Alternate Site Emergency Department can be converted from a 15-bed infirmary into a mini-hospital emergency room capable of housing more than 30 patients, or even into an isolation facility equipped to handle radiological or infectious disease events, said Dr. John McCabe, a professor and chair of emergency medicine at the State University of New York's Upstate Medical University.
"Patients can be treated without the likelihood of contamination of an entire hospital," McCabe said. "We can't know what we're preparing for so we have to be prepared for it all."
More likely than a terrorist attack or even a natural disaster, said McCabe, is an event of smaller scale that could render the emergency room at one of Syracuse's four hospitals inoperable. Its location at the fairgrounds was removed from the city center several miles away, but still in a central proximity, he said.
"Changing world conditions today require that we counter every threat and plan for every contingency," said U.S. Rep. James Walsh of Syracuse, who helped obtain more than $1 million in federal funding for the convertible mini-hospital. Walsh toured the facility when it opened Thursday.
The New York State Health Department provided another $300,000 for the facility and hopes it can serve as a national model for medical emergency preparedness, said Jeffrey Hammond, an agency spokesman.
The facility will serve manifold purposes, McCabe said.
- It can provide emergency ambulatory services during major events held at the fairgrounds, which is open nearly year-round hosting shows, exhibits, conferences and conventions.
- It will be a training facility. Because the new facility can be used to mimic a full emergency department, it can be used in large-scale simulation exercises. Doctors also will be able to test new equipment there.
By having such a facility removed from the normal health care setting, exercises can be undertaken without disruption of existing facilities, McCabe said.
With little turnaround time, the Alternate Site Emergency Department can be converted from a 15-bed infirmary into a mini-hospital emergency room capable of housing more than 30 patients, or even into an isolation facility equipped to handle radiological or infectious disease events, said Dr. John McCabe, a professor and chair of emergency medicine at the State University of New York's Upstate Medical University.
"Patients can be treated without the likelihood of contamination of an entire hospital," McCabe said. "We can't know what we're preparing for so we have to be prepared for it all."
More likely than a terrorist attack or even a natural disaster, said McCabe, is an event of smaller scale that could render the emergency room at one of Syracuse's four hospitals inoperable. Its location at the fairgrounds was removed from the city center several miles away, but still in a central proximity, he said.
"Changing world conditions today require that we counter every threat and plan for every contingency," said U.S. Rep. James Walsh of Syracuse, who helped obtain more than $1 million in federal funding for the convertible mini-hospital. Walsh toured the facility when it opened Thursday.
The New York State Health Department provided another $300,000 for the facility and hopes it can serve as a national model for medical emergency preparedness, said Jeffrey Hammond, an agency spokesman.
The facility will serve manifold purposes, McCabe said.
- It can provide emergency ambulatory services during major events held at the fairgrounds, which is open nearly year-round hosting shows, exhibits, conferences and conventions.
- It will be a training facility. Because the new facility can be used to mimic a full emergency department, it can be used in large-scale simulation exercises. Doctors also will be able to test new equipment there.
By having such a facility removed from the normal health care setting, exercises can be undertaken without disruption of existing facilities, McCabe said.
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.