Byline: Tori Katz Medill News Service
Preparing the medical community for a large-scale disaster is no small feat. For that reason, emergency response coordinators in many Illinois hospitals are commonly called by their superhero nicknames, like 'emergency guru' and 'disaster queen.'
According to records from the Illinois Department of Public Health, in 2005 approximately $15 million in U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration funds were earmarked for hospitals and health care trade associations throughout the state specifically to help improve bioterrorism preparedness efforts.
Ten hospitals responsible for coordination of disaster preparedness in specific regions received $522,000 each, including Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, Loyola University Chicago's Foster G. McGaw Hospital in Maywood, Highland Park Hospital and Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
Nancy Pasieta, emergency director at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, is coordinator for 15 hospitals. She's used the money to buy a decontamination tent with trailers, audio-visual conferencing units and a surveillance system to detect patterns of complaints in emergency room visits. She also uses the funds to run drills and hold education sessions.
Mary Casey-Lockyer, known as the 'disaster queen' of Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights (her official title is emergency response coordinator) spends her days planning for an event she hopes never to witness.
While not a regional coordinator, Northwest Community received $76,900 to educate employees, purchase supplies and upgrade equipment, according to Casey-Lockyer. She conducts a minimum of two drills per year, lasting anywhere from two hours to four days.
'Hospitals today are being forced to take an all-hazards approach,' she said. 'They are preparing for all types of emergencies, both man-made and natural, from fires to al-Qaida.'
In a recent drill, 15 volunteer patients entered the Northwest Community emergency room in a five-hour time span in the middle of the night. Each patient complained of symptoms indicative of anthrax exposure. Hospital staff was expected to identify the link between the patients, isolate them, notify the correct people and mobilize the proper number of hospital beds to treat the patients. Casey-Lockyer said hospitals, now more than ever, are working together to anticipate prepare for emergencies.
If the real thing happens, we're ready to go. We take security extremely seriously.'
