Jefferson County HealthCare Report

Your area hospitals have a Disaster Preparedness Committee as a part of their hospital wide Safety Programs. They have a written plan to follow, and each employee knows their particular task or responsibility. At least twice every year, they have a mock disaster to test this emergency plan. This exercise includes the Office of Emergency Services, Fire and Police, and other agencies.

In the last two years, preparation for potential Y2K emergencies has caused hospitals to reassess all current systems and equipment and improve those systems. Y2K preparation has also led to interactions with more resources than ever before in emergency Y2K planning. As a result, hospitals know more about their own internal systems and equipment than ever before, and know more about what is available in Jefferson County for any given type of emergency. Knowing that all problems cannot be predicted, hospitals have made detailed contingency plans for failures of infrastructures, equipment, and specific functions. Nursing Homes are also required to have disaster plans. Our local Health Department has emergency procedures to follow as well.

JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL organized a task force for Y2K preparation in early 1998. The first step was to obtain education on the Y2K situation through the Georgia Hospital Association series of teleconferences. Then, hospital wide awareness was the focus, with educational programs by the WV Hospital Association and others. A plan was written, with a proposed timeline. The next step was to inventory all medical equipment in the hospital, as well as all computer equipment. The assessment phase included all information technologies, medical devices (anything with an embedded chip), facilities, communications, business systems, business relationships, and supplies. Then, letters concerning Y2K status were written to all vendors and manufacturers of medical equipment, and all persons or companies having business relationships with the hospital.

From that information, remediation efforts were planned. Jefferson Memorial invested $276,892.00 in information technologies to replace all existing hardware for information systems. Software conversion is about 90% complete with a projected completion date of October 31, 1999. The 640 medical devices in the inventory were assessed by CTS, a biomedical equipment company. The information was cross checked with the Duke University medical equipment database. From this a capital equipment budget was developed totaling $258,230.00. Installations of replacement equipment or upgrades are 95% complete currently.

The hospital has a 500 kw emergency generator to supply power to mission critical areas of the hospital during a power failure. That system is currently undergoing testing and also renovation.

The heating and cooling systems for the hospital are controlled through a central energy management system. A software upgrade of the Metasys energy management system and new computer completed the "fix".

If a problem exists with water supply, emergency water will be supplied with a water tanker. In case a communication failure is experienced, the hospital has a plan that utilizes cellular phones and radio communication with the help of the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Services.

Hospital business systems established Y2K compliance with the Medicare fiscal intermediary as well as commercial insurance billing software in April of 1999. In May 1999 the Medicaid billing system became compliant through a transfer to Consultec of Florida since the West Virginia application is not yet compliant.

Supplies were also considered. Through Premier, a national group purchasing organization of over 1700 hospitals, a supply warehouse has been established to meet the needs of nine area hospitals including Jefferson Memorial.

The Urgent Care facility in Charles Town has undergone similar preparation, as well as Jefferson Home Care.

Even though Jefferson Memorial has made considerable effort to prepare internally we know that we cannot control the unforeseen events or external preparedness levels. For that reason contingency plans have been established for all departments and services, and a special Y2K team will be present in the hospital during critical dates to monitor critical equipment and systems.

According to Randy DeHaven, Administrator of the Jefferson County Health Department, that organization already has a plan in place. In the event of serious disruptions due to Y2K or other emergency, the health department will follow the disaster guidelines established by the WV Bureau for Public Health.

The Jefferson County Emergency Headquarters will notify the Health Department Administrator in case of an emergency. The call down list will include the Health Officer, Board of Health Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Nursing Supervisor, and Sanitarian Supervisor.

The Administrator of the Health Department will monitor media for news concerning Y2K disruptions. In the event of severe disruption including loss of power and telephone service, key health department personnel will arrive at Emergency Headquarters for briefings and to provide disaster service. The Health Department is located in the same facility with Emergency Headquarters, and is equipped with a backup generator. The information systems at the Health Department are Y2K compliant and important records are backed up.

Burt Ridge, Chief Information Officer for City Hospital, has outlined the Y2K Compliance Plan for that organization. City Hospital has been working on the Y2K issue for the last two years. They have a formal, multidisciplinary task force which consists of senior managers and many department representatives. Issues, procedures, potential problems, and solutions have been determined.

Hardware, software, and medical devices have been tested. This testing has involved 980 pieces of medical equipment such as infant monitors, radiology equipment, and infusion pumps. It has also involved 260 kinds of software and approximately 500 pieces of computer equipment.

Money and manpower have been devoted to making sure all systems are compliant. Senior managers and management groups will be on site during critical dates.

Contingency plans have been reviewed and revised in all areas of the hospital.

Anke Linton, Y2K Project Coordinator from the VA Center, says that they have been working on Y2K prepareness for two years. They have assessed and renovated all devices and systems and have had exercises to test their changes. Another test is planned for November. They also have contingency plans in all areas.

If there are any questions about this report, or any further information is desired, please call
Sarah Johnson at Jefferson Memorial Hospital
Phone 304-728-1697
e-mail: sjohnson@jeffmem.com

WHAT DO HOSPITALS DO TO "BE PREPARED" ?