Is Queens Ready For Disaster?

Following disasters such as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the tsunami in southeast Asia, the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), a not-for-profit organization, has taken up the cause of disaster preparedness within primary care centers.
Defined as a free-standing health center where members of the community go for routine visits, primary care facilities, according to PCDC officials, are underserved and underprepared when it comes to controlling disease outbreaks and dealing with the possibility of bioterrorism attacks.
“Primary care centers are vital sources of both health care and support services to their communities,” said Deborah Zahn, Director of External Affairs at PCDC. “Although not first responders, primary care centers are the frontline source of care in their communities.”
According to Zahn, primary care facilities must be ready to identify and contain outbreaks, triage and refer patients, provide non-urgent care when emergency rooms are filled, and provide mental health services.
“Most primary care centers have little to no capacity or infrastructure in place to address emergency preparedness and, unlike most hospitals and public health agencies, there have been no other local and organized efforts to address this need,” Zahn told The Queens Courier.
Working with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and national experts over the course of the past year, PCDC examined 12 sites city-wide, three of which were in Queens: the Charles B. Wang Family Health Center in Flushing, the Elmhurst Hospital Outpatient Department and the YAI-National Institute for People with Disabilities/Premier Health Care: Bayside Multi-Service Center.
Queens was considered a high-risk borough due to the fact that it contains both area airports and two sports stadiums.
Of all 12 facilities, Elmhurst, with its four-point disaster plan that includes internal disasters (within the hospital itself); external (airline and other catastrophies); non fire-related evacuations; and weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological or chemical emergencies, which can be monitored as far away as 75 miles) scored the highest.
“I’m very proud of the fact that Elmhurst did as well as we did,” said Robert Becker, Associate Executive Director for Emergency Services. “It’s a tribute to our great staff.”
In fact, the Level 1 trauma center, with 3,500 staff members, executes training exercises and drills at least once a year.
“Post 9/11 we have not backed off our vigilance,” said Becker, who was the chief of operations for the NYC Emergency Medical Systems for 20 years and has been with Elmhurst for 15 years. “If we’re trained well, we’ll do well.”
Based on the results of the assessment, then, the PCDC developed and tested a prototype program to assist primary care center staff in developing and implementing an appropriate emergency response initiative at their sites.
This program consisted of a primary-care specific Incident Command Structure (including staff roles and training, equipment, etc.) for responding to all hazard events; methods of improving the capacity of primary care settings to support non-urgent and community-based health care services; and an integration of preparedness efforts with surrounding hospitals, community service organizations and city and state public health and emergency management agencies.
In order to implement its two-year plan in 40 primary care centers throughout the city, the PCDC is currently seeking $1.5 million in funding.
“These sites would love to be part of a program where they would be prepared,” said Zahn. “However, the funding for a coordinated city effort is unavailable; we are trying to secure it from the City Council.”
toni@queenscourier.com