| December
21, 2005
Marquette
General shined during Mather Nursing Home crisis
The
December 12 fire at the Mather Nursing Home in Ishpeming
proved to be the first real test of our Emergency Response
System in our new Emergency Department and ExpressCare Walk-In
Clinic.
I’m proud to report that the system performed above
and beyond all expectations for the mass casualty event. |
|
Our success in treating nearly 50 patients in
the ED is a real credit to the MGH staff, many of whom worked
long hours in the face of adversity.
On the evening of the fire, our ED processed 49 patients. That
number is impressive considering that our ED typically treats
between 15 and 20 patients a night. Our hyperbaric chamber treated
two patients for carbon monoxide poisoning.
When we began the new ED design work, we did so with the thought
of one day treating patients in a mass casualty event. The new,
expanded ED made for easier access for EMS vehicles to get in
and out; separate entrances helped streamline traffic flow; and
our Emergency/ExpressCare system facilitated rapid triage by our
highly trained nurses.
Thank you to the physicians, physician assistants, nursing staff
and clerks for their superb job during this tragic event. Their
quick response, attention to detail, and ability to work in a
tense, unsettling situation was nothing less than heroic.
Special thanks goes to the Incident Command Team that assembled
at the Command Center in the Education Building. Calls were placed
to our Command Team in the early morning hours … the team
promptly responded and quickly got down to work. Their incident
command training certainly showed.
Thanks to our nursing supervisors and unit staff who responded
quickly in coordinating hospital rooms for the patients, and to
our social workers for their diligent help in placing these patients
in other nursing home facilities.
Also, a big thank you to Community Relations and Marketing, EMS
personnel, Housekeeping, Laundry, Logistics, Maintenance, Risk
Management and the Switchboard personnel … you all provided
invaluable help at a time we desperately needed it.
Our hospital staff clearly shined in an adverse situation. Our
ED and family medicine physicians, along with our nurse manager
and physician assistant, were exemplary during the crisis. Our
nurses — in the ED and on the respective floors the patients
were transferred to — were truly outstanding.
What did we take away from the Mather fire? For starters, we learned
that this ED can compete on any level with the rest of the trauma
centers in the state of Michigan. Each of these individuals is
a vital part of a skilled system of professionals in the treatment
of the emergency patient. Our mass casualty plan is implemented
infrequently … the ED and supporting healthcare staff should
take pride in the way its disaster preparations paid off.
The events that unfolded at the Mather Nursing Center were tragic.
However, from the heroic efforts of first responders, to the nurses
and healthcare professionals who provided quality, compassionate
care here and at Bell Memorial, THANK YOU!
It was a job very well done and appreciated.
Sincerely,
Al Hendra
Assistant Administrator
MGHS
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Marquette General Hospital, 420 W. Magnetic Street, Marquette MI 49855
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