The State Of WMC's Decon Equipment-Is It Ready To Work??

[x635 4,066]

Photo: Decon equipment stored in the ambulance bay of Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla,NY

The photo above shows the state of WMC's Hazmat recieving decontamination equipment. It has been in that condition for months now. The tarp partially over it is a new addition.

For months now, I have been in and out of the WMC "New and Improved" ED Ambulance bay.

Shortly after opening, they placed these two Rubbermaid cabinets in an area which obstructs an ambulance loading/unloading slot. These cabinets were never secured, and have been getting worse and worse, as pictured above, for weeks now. I feel that this equipment is not ready to be deployed, much of it is pilfered through and damaged/destroyed. The equipment is exposed to the elements, including the snow and the cold, 24/7. I've talked to a couple different people in the ED about it, and nobody really knows whos responsibility it is.

This is a brand new ER. I'm very suprised that they didnt build decon facilities right into the ER, except for the "Shower" room which is used for storage.

Hopefully somebody reading this knows somebody to get this taken care of.

[Skooter92 7]

x635, I couldn't agree with you more. This goes along with the utterly ridiculous setup at WPHC for decon, where the showers drain into the ambulance bay and the decon trailer at NWHC being down a narrow alley next to the ED, with no real provision for setting up separate flow of contaminated/deconned patients in and out.

This county's ED's are woefully unprepared for a real HazMat/WMD incident.

[unleashedff248 3]

I was wondering what that heap of junk out there was! I figured it was left over construction equipment or something, since I never had the chance to get a close look. This is certainly rediculous, anyone would agree. I would imagine that WMC is not too concerned with the threat of recieving a HazMat/WMD incident. And no one knows who's in charge of it...hmmm. Maybe sending that picture to a county administrator/executive would get some results?

And the shower room...one word: poor.

Enough said. A picture's worth a thousand words.

[CAM502 6]

Oh don't worry they won't need that stuff. Hazmat doesn't happen here in Westchester right!

What more can you say but ](*,) ](*,) .

[Guest]

Yeah, as I count the 1993 placards going by me on Route 1 !!!!!

[tbendick 27]

Something else I also noticed.. The curb in the ambulance bay isn't cut. It would be nice if the entire thing was cut so you could wheel over the curb, when you don't back into a spot.

I try to park away from the main ED doors when I have a minor injury. So that it leaves room in case a Trauma comes in.. But then when I wheel over there is no cut curbs.

[x635 4,066]

This problem is being resolved, courtesy of the Arena family!! Thanks Jim!

[WAS967 97]

Phelps has probably the only setup I know of for decon of multiple/large quantities of patients. PRoblem is, it's on the other side of the hospital and patients need to be brought there first then shuttled to the ER for treatment after decon. HVHC we have a small decon shower that can be setup in the ER bay pretty quickly. I have used it to decon two patients, but don't see it being too useful for multiple patients. NYH-Cornell appears to have a good setup. Men's and Women's sides, warm and cold zones....exit right next to the ER entrance.

[ja3kfd 34]

Ok the contact was made to the right people and I will pass on the information and we will see if wecan work out better set ups for de con and i will pass on info about curb cut as well.

[MGMedic 0]

AWESOME picture!!! Sometimes they are worth a thousand words.

[mikerabbit 2]

Glad you brought that heap to light. I was looking at it the other day because we were unable to manuver a patient around it because the containers are so close to the abmulance bay. Those containers are loaded with cigarett butts and other garbage. I like how that funky security keypad was already removed. They still keep those doors wide open with no security for anybody to walk in.

[x635 4,066]

Thanks to ja3KFD and his high-level WMC connections, the situation of decon gear as described above seems to have been resolved with the arrival of a shiny new decon trailer and decluttering of the shower room. From what I hear, training and a plan for the deployment of the equipment is next

Thanks ja3KFD!! Now, can you get us our EMS report room/after-call lounge back please, lol!!! Those "ANSC" nurses stole it!!

And the old emty cabinets, with some of the trash that was formely covering the gear still in them

[WAS967 97]

Talk about results. Too bad there isn't any money to put in a more permanent setup like there is outside NYH-Cornell. Perhaps the County Decon/Hazmat unit could step in and find a decent solution for patients arriving with any kind of potential contamination?

[firemn23 8]

ja3KFD now that is some serious pull to have it done so quickly.

[vfd2482 0]

The WMC is in the Valhalla FD's district, therefore we have the responsibility of setting up and assisting with the decon. We have trained on the setup and use a few times. There was a order to the way items were stored, so that we would be able to setup in a timely fashion. Now i will have to see if thats still the case.

by the way the setup will work, but westchester county deserves a better, permanent facility.

[roeems87 0]

That's fine that you are a part of it, but suppose the incident was in your district to begin with, you won't be able to assist with the containment and set-up with the hospitals, I am sure your resources will already be stretched at the scene itself. The hospital needs a more comprehensive, wide-spread, and county plan in place for such an incident. Don't kid yourself, WMC is the first Level1 Trauma Center outside of NYC, something big happens, they will get patients. Something big could happen anywhere in the Hudson Valley, nearby CT, and parts of NYC and Westchester MC will get an overflow of patients involved that may need decon. This is a serious issue. When constructing an entirely new department, of this hospitals caliber, in this day and age, the lack of any set up for this more extensive that rubbermaid containers from Home Depot is not acceptable. Something needs to be put in place, larger, more organized, and everyone needs to know how it works. We never know when it may be used: it could be tomorrow, it could be an hour from now, it could be 5 years from now, it could be never. In any case, these improvements need to be made NOW.

[ny10570 745]

WOW, that was f-ing amazing ja3KFD!!! We're trying to get two new rigs in pleasantville maybe you can work some magic??

[ja3kfd 34]

Okay Thanks for all the applause but all we did is call 1 person, anyways they have a new director of the ER from what we hear,I wish him well, okay now onto the important stuff, I do hope that all the Mt. Pleasant FD s that surrond WCMC are trained on the use and set up of all the DECON equipment. Another point to make is know that it is in the Trailer maybe it should be set up and checked out to make sure it weathered the winter well. EVeryone PLEASE understand that myself and my wife want to see the Medical Center not only survive but flourish so anything we can do to make it better we will do and continue to keep doing.

[x635 4,066]

Thanks again to Jim and his contact for getting these things taken care of so expeditiously and working to get WMC up to being a real EMS recieving facility.

Some good points raised about the decon operation by roeems87 and ja3kfd.

Alsom, let's not forget, Decon is not only big-scale terrorist incidents.

There is everyday decon, whether it is the painters riding in the back of a painters van that overturned, a fertilizer warehouse worker who had a pallet of fertilizer break open on him, or that bug infested patient found every now and then. That's what the showers are useful for. And then there are others where more mass decon is effective, such as MCI's involving chemicals, such as in industrial accidents.

I wonder how long it would take to get this decon system setup?

Stamford FD has built some really nice ready-to-go decon trailers, I understand, complete with built in heated showers. Maybe someone here can elaborate on those?

[roeems87 0]

Yeah, to be perfectly honest, when I was making my post I wasn't even considering the smaller scale decon stuff like spills (small) and MVAs with chemicals and stuff. I was thinking more on the large scale, things we have to "be prepared" for because we "never know" what is coming next or where that will be. Along those lines, that is why I would venture a suggestion that this would be a Decontamination team, or the hospital should have a terrorism or MCI team that would go into effect when it became necessary. Having the local FDs responsible for it could be a problem if they are tied up already. That logic also works on the small scale though. VFD and other Pleasantville FDs are not exactly big with multiple apparatus that can be operating many calls at once by themselves. If they are already committed to the incident itself (whether just a car accident or a small spill, or the terrorist incident), they cannot divert themselves to prepare the hospital. God knows the hospital is the last thing on the mind of FD (and it probably should be) when there is any kind of incident. The closest thing to worrying about healthcare for them is EMS. Unfortunately, they are the ones that have to worry when it comes time to get to the ER about what may or may not be ready for them. Granted, perhaps some decon may already be done when something is a hot zone on a scene, but the issue still stands that some outside team should be ready to prepare WMC outside of just the FD.

For all I know, there could already be a plan like this in effect, but it's another small step to getting prepared for whatever the hospital may face. Having the capabilities to handle all types of illnesses, injuries, and situations are what makes a hospital a good hospital. It's what puts them on the map. Westchester should be able to be ready for this kind of stuff in the best way possible...

[vfd2482 0]

Let me clear this up a bit. first off the med center does have their own staff trained to set up and run the decon. When we trained it was side by side with nurses, stat flight's crew, maintenance and a few administrators. the problem is we don't know who will be working the day of an incident. so we are assuming we will be doing most of the setting up. IF WE ARE NOT INVOLVED AT THE SCENE OF THE INCIDENT! as roeems points out.

as far as time - it takes about 20-25 minutes to set up. the water for showers is heated by the propane tanks that you can see in the pictures.

let's all hope we never find out how well this system will work.

[x635 4,066]

What if you are the incident????

Chemical Leak Sends 50 West Virginia Firefighters to the Hospital

Updated: 04-22-2005 12:47:21 PM

ASSOCIATED PRESS  

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. (AP) -- A truck carrying barrels of a chemical crashed and burst into flames, killing the driver and sickening nearly 50 emergency workers who were exposed to the fumes.  

The flatbed truck crashed at about 11:50 p.m. Thursday on a four-lane highway. The highway remained closed in both directions Friday morning.  

The truck was carrying barrels of a polyurethane-based liquid called RePneu II, which is used to fill the tires of off-road coal mining and construction equipment to prevent flats, Mingo County Emergency Services said.  

Firefighters responding to the accident initially thought the leaking liquid was oil, but they began complaining of breathing problems and other ailments. They were taken to Williamson Memorial Hospital for decontamination and treatment for eye and skin irritation.  

One resident near the crash site, which is in a rural area, also sought treatment. John Barrett, emergency department manager at Williamson Memorial, said the people brought there were treated and released.  

The driver's identity and employer were not immediately known Friday.  

[Guest]

Don't you want to decon prior to getting to the medical facility. I believe in this county there are numerous mobile decon equipment. I'm from Croton I know that right in our area we have 2 valuable resources for this. One is housed at the Verplanck firehouse, a trailer. And the other being on Montrose VAFD Haz-Mat 33. In fact at the Va we have a small shower and a large incident shower. Handling appro. 100+ patients at a time. Like Seth said, these should be used for all incidents whewre decon needs to be done. Don't you wanna keep your membership, so protect them. These resources can be deployed at anytime. Hey if anyone wants to train with them let me know!!