Hurricane provides valuable lessons
Hurricane provides valuable lessons
When Hurricane Katrina struck Fairway Medical Center in Covington, LA, Kory Krista, director of plant operations, learned one lesson the hard way: Have wet vacs at designated areas in the facility connected to critical power to remove water.
"When we found a leak that needed more than one person to contain, we would announce the location of the leak on our paging system, and staff would arrive to assist," he says. Because the facility is a specialty surgical hospital, it is required by the state to be staffed 24 hours a day.
"We would do regular inspections of the interior of the facility for leaks and do what we needed to contain the leaks, but we had to avoid using excessive amounts of linen to remove the water to avoid possible shortages of necessary linens after the storm," Krista notes.
Water accumulated in the parking lot to a depth as much 12-18 inches, but that water didn’t enter the building, he says.
Several items would have made it easier to weather the storm, Krista points out. Those items include:
- additional roof drains as well as scupper drains lower on the parapet walls of the roof;
- hurricane-resistant glass in windows;
- separate water well system powered by generators to provide water;
- drop tank for diesel fuel next to the generators (in the event water rises on the ground or below the ground storage fuel tank).
Consider locating at least one critical emergency generator on a second or higher floor, or possibly a lower rooftop, suggests Mark Mayo, executive director of the Illinois Freestanding Surgery Center Association in St. Charles. Mayo has seen an emergency generator flooded because it was underwater.
Also, take time to fill sinks, tubs, etc., with water that can be used for flushing waste or boiled to use as emergency drinking or sanitation supplies, Mayo advises. Additionally, have battery-powered or satellite forms of communications, he suggests.
"Also, arrange a mutual response plan with a facility both in your area and a sister or adopted facility in another community so that the unaffected center can get some needed supplies moving to your center the next day," Mayo adds. "Some suppliers can help set this up, so talk to your vendors about such disaster help."
When Hurricane Katrina struck Fairway Medical Center in Covington, LA, Kory Krista, director of plant operations, learned one lesson the hard way: Have wet vacs at designated areas in the facility connected to critical power to remove water.Subscribe Now for Access
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