Warsaw, NY, November 22, 2010 - Wyoming County Community Health System (WCCHS) is prepared for emergencies like sudden patient influx or loss of electricity during a winter storm.

Hospital personnel recently conducted a training exercise that simulated a “perfect” storm, complete with a system-wide power failure to the hospital’s power supply, a bus accident that resulted in 10 “patients” being admitted to the emergency room, and a fire in the skilled nursing home resulting in the need to evacuate “patients”. During the drill, hospital maintenance personnel initiated emergency back-up plans and switched the power source from the grid to the facility’s stand-alone unit, Co-gen plant. Hospital staff served as “patients” while other staff members utilized evacuation equipment and tested policies and procedures.

This exercise tested the emergency room and hospital staffs’ ability to handle an influx of patients at one time. Our Emergency preparedness drills are intended to create a situation in which we take on more patients than we would normally expect.

“We are prepared to deal with extreme situations, such as loss of power during an ice storm.  Our facility has the unique capability to generate our own electricity with a natural gas generator as a stand-alone unit, separate from the grid. We run parallel with the grid, under normal conditions, to cut utility costs throughout the year. Our co-gen plant is on stand-by 24/7.” Ted Fritz, WCCHS Plant Manager.

Emergency preparedness drills are mandated by the Joint Commission for competency evaluation and accreditation. Two drills are required each year, one of which needs to incorporate a “larger than normal” patient influx.

Laura Paolucci, Wyoming County’s Public Health Administrator, says, “The 2010 partnership between the hospital and health department for County-wide emergency preparedness is a great example of collaboration to improve service to our residents. Our recent drill at the hospital was successful and provided all involved agencies with additional information to design programs that ensure the safety of our residents in an emergency.”  

Wyoming County Community Health System was assisted by the Wyoming County Department of Health, Office of Emergency Management, NYS Department of Health, and Monroe Ambulance Service during this drill. Questions regarding Wyoming County’s Emergency Preparedness can be made to Brian Meyers, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, 786-8890 or bmeyers@wyomingco.net.