Hospitals strapped for disaster cash
Washington Business Journal - by Chris Silva Staff Reporter
Local hospitals are scrambling to reinforce their front-line departments with protective equipment that would insulate staff against biological and chemical attacks.
They're also scrambling to figure out how to foot the bill.
The American Hospital Association reports that few of the nation's 4,900 acute care hospitals have the necessary equipment on hand to handle a large-scale biological, chemical or nuclear attack. The organization has issued a disaster readiness report that includes a series of recommendations that would cost the industry as a whole $11.3 billion.
That's $7,000 for every employee on the front lines of every hospital in America who must be outfitted with a protective suit, gloves and boots, respirator, and training to use the respirator. In most hospitals, front-line employees are those in triage, operating rooms, emergency rooms or decontamination facilities. In urban hospitals, the front line also includes lab, radiology and janitorial workers. The equipment included in the AHA recommendations would provide "level B" protection to employees; level A provides the highest level of protection, but is more restrictive.
To give the issue some context, D.C. Providence Hospital has 150 front-line workers -- 100 of them working at any given time. That will translate into at least $700,000 that Providence must spend on protective gear -- at a time when most hospital budgets already are stretched to the limit.
Even so, many D.C.-area hospitals have begun to address the issue, following the AHA guidelines.
"We have done a complete review of our policies, procedures and plans related to emergency preparedness in light of recent events," says Mike Hall, spokesman for Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. "On the basis of that review, we have determined that we needed to acquire additional equipment and supplies."
As a result of the review, Hall says Holy Cross (http://www.holycrosshealth.org) will purchase 20 protective body suits with air-purifying respirators. The hospital also plans to install six extra shower heads in its decontamination facility, and is redesigning its drainage system.
Despite AHA's guidance, hospitals are unsure which employees should receive the equipment and training first.
"There's a lot of controversy about what level of protection to buy and who should wear it," says Margaret Barron, chairwoman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Providence Hospital. "Everyone is figuring out what to do and how to do it."
Providence (http://www.provhosp.org) is purchasing a decontamination tent -- another of AHA's recommendations -- as well as protective suits. Barron estimates it will cost $800 to train each employee to operate within a suit.
Suburban Hospital in Bethesda (http://www.suburbanhospital.org) is stocking up on high-efficiency particulate air -- or HEPA -- masks for all of its employees. Suburban employs about 1,200 workers, and HEPA masks cost about $75 per person. The hospital also plans to incorporate level B protection for its front-line employees.
Hospital administrators are concerned about where all this money will come from.
"We're hopeful that some public monies will be available to help defray the costs," says Hall. "If not, we will have to postpone other capital acquisitions."
Barron acknowledges Providence's plan probably will cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars" -- much of which thus far has come out of the hospital's operating budget.
E-mail: csilva@bizjournals.com
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