Page 27 - SFHN JUNE 2020 FLIP BOOK

Disaster ... Hurricane Preparedness ... Emergency Medicine ... Disaster... Hurricane Prep

Cover Story: Century Ambulance

vs. Pandemic: Flexible, Resourceful, Innovative Disaster Response

Continued from page 1 skimp on safety of our employees or the monitor and keep track of colleagues who And, while the disaster preparation
avoid or at least limit catastrophic crisis patients we help.” conducted home visits or were exposed to team is a year-round endeavor, from June-
situations experienced nationwide due to the virus and follow-up with them on reg- November tropical storms and hurricanes
COVID-19,” Matt Johnson, General New Services and ular temperature checks or other symp- can present logistical challenges for trans-
Manager said. Flexible Staff Roles toms. “It was important to us to keep track portation and shelter. Normally planning
Bolstered by their foundation as a for- Our next step was to partner with local of these encounters and to identify imme- includes coordinating with city officials to
ward-thinking transportation and logistics Counties and the State Departments of diately if someone may have had an expo- identify large buildings and stocking them
partner in community health care, Health in supporting the overall mission sure. Fortunately, we have not had anyone as local shelter support for community res-
Century Ambulance is weathering the of the State in getting as many people test- exposed without PPE gear or test positive idents displaced by storms. During the
pandemic amidst significant changes in ed, especially those in vulnerable popula- for COVID.” pandemic, however, social distancing
roles, equipment, staffing and operations. tions. And, while Century goes above and guidelines present new challenges and
For example, the pandemic turned the “Century trained our crews to safely beyond State Department of Health and require planners to think outside the box
patient population drastically askew with enter senior living facilities and staff test- CDC guidelines for safety, they have ele- when evacuations are in order. Century is
slowdowns and cancellations of elective ing sites after learning swab testing tech- vated cleaning and sanitization of ambu- working with disaster planning officials
surgery, annual procedural check-ups and niques,” Johnson said. Additionally, we lances and products during this infectious and stands ready to make ambulances and
postponement of non-emergency health delivered PPE to facilities provided by the threat. staff available for transportation to safe
visits resulting in 50% fewer discharges state and counties and helped retrain and According to Johnson, they purchased areas when evacuation is required.
which translated to decreased demand for remind the facility staff on how to effec- an AeroClave system earlier this year. The
ambulance transport. Additionally, tively wear the gear and equipment. system performs a computerized fog-like Impact on Mental Health
demand for all event stand-by staffing dis- Due to the distancing issues with the cleaning of the interior of ambulance. Resources
appeared as sports competitions, school pandemic, the training department had to After each transport, all ambulances Looking at lessons learned from this
events, concerts and community fairs were leverage their skills and technology and do undergo a full sanitation process which serious threat to our nation, Johnson sug-
cancelled. Still, the dangerous effects of many of the train the trainer education involves 20 minutes of disinfectant fog gests a revitalized effort to support mental
the coronavirus via infections from expo- systems via online training. Education was application that penetrates every nook and health needs of first responders who go
sure to asymptomatic and symptomatic conducted remotely with the Department cranny to stop the spread of any germs for toward known danger at every turn. For
patients created new and heightened con- of Health ‘Train the Trainer’ series and patient and staff. The ‘fog bomb’ provides example, infection control social distanc-
cerns for safety and infection control. then one-on-one with Century staff. additional sanitation precautions to the ing in the home stations (necessary to
Specific routines for cleaning facilities and Additionally, Broward County’s demo- normal cleaning of each vehicle, inside avoid spread of COVID-19 germs) can
equipment, supplying and utilizing hand graphic prevalence of high-risk special and out. simultaneously negate the benefits of com-
sanitizers and social distancing techniques needs patients required a specialized, The initial system was purchased and a mon lounge areas which support a sense
are top of mind for all staffers. knowledgeable Century crew, equipped second was awarded through a grant of community among first responders.
In 2018 when Century Ambulance with appropriate protective equipment to through the Broward County Healthcare “While EAP support is available, global-
expanded into the South Florida market, make home visits, test for the virus, and Coalition. ly we need to apply more resources toward
they entered as more than just patient transport patients if necessary for further “To date we have had no virus infections identification, counseling, and support for
transportation and sought to fill a role as a monitoring and treatment. and hail our health heroes for going into both staff in the field and on dispatch duty
logistics partner with health care leading Recognizing the need for additional staff known danger and protecting our clients who exhibit symptoms of anxiety, depres-
institutions providing patient pre-hospital Century has added new staff, reenforced and themselves,” Johnson noted. sion, and PTSD,” he explained.
data and tele-care and remote communica- its bench and also moved to provide hous- Johnson summarized, “Obviously this
tions to medical professionals during ing for temporary transfers for staff mem- Hurricane Preparedness continues to be a rapidly evolving envi-
transport. This foundation of knowledge bers volunteering for short term relocation and Cruise Quarantine ronment but our highest priority is the
and advanced preparation allowed them to South Florida from lesser hit areas to As if this pandemic in and of itself does health of our patients, workforce, the
the flexibility to meet a changing health support the 24/7 need. not impact the ambulance transport and public and all agencies we support, so we
care world. Johnson said, “We also anticipated the logistics procedures enough, it came upon are continuously monitoring national,
However, during the current unique tripled number of ambulances needed the scene as the travel and cruise vacations state and local guidelines to ensure com-
health care environment that mission was (from 5 ambulances to 15 per day) after were at a peak and the hurricane season pliance with the most advanced infection
challenged by well-intentioned govern- initiating new roles so we acquired addi- preparation was underway. control opinions.”
mental communication efforts regarding tional vehicles from our reserve fleet.” In both Jacksonville and Fort Laud -
the novel virus which led to misinforma- “We also have modified our operational erdale ports, Century supports the crews For information, visit
tion, lack of information, misinterpreta- procedures. Typically, in our EMS area in who are now quarantined aboard. centuryambulance.com.
tions of information and changing guid- North Florida, a team of responders would Providing care for these floating cities
ance. Century’s efforts to fill the needs gap enter a site together; now, we send one per- often requires attention to language and
and create new services that also support- son in first to assess the immediate need cultural complications.
ed their business survival during these and communicate with staff regarding pre-
chaotic times needed to be supple and cautionary entry measures. We also have
innovative. designated administrative oversight in
Thanks to a committed corporate mind- communication with on-site staff to deter-
set with no parameters on innovation, mine and evaluate best next-step scenar-
flexibility or resourcefulness, Century has ios,” Johnson explained.
supported their employees, community, Century, by nature, was also better pre-
and their business in several new roles pared than many businesses to deal with
during these chaotic times with exception- employees whose home schedules were in
al care. For example, as an essential work- sudden turmoil as parents needed to be
force with high potential for exposure to home for kids since school was cancelled.
the novel virus Century immediately The county demographics also requires
sourced all major vendors for personal preparation to overcome cultural and lan-
protective gear (PPE). This included non- guage barriers.
traditional sources like hardware stores Johnson explained, “Since we are a 24/7,
and autobody shops to secure PPEs to 365-day operation, we can accommodate
keep staff safe and on the job. change in shifts for parents or guardians
“As a multi-state provider under the and we help with housing for those who
Covalent parent company, I was able to volunteer to temporarily re-assign from
connect with a vendor in the Midwest who their home base to areas in Broward
had an oversupply due to a client who County in immediate need. Traditionally,
went out of business. Century budgets for we deliberately staff to better relate to our
PPE and disinfectant equipment rose from diverse demographics,” he said.
$1,000/month to $100,000 in March,” In addition to special preparation train-
according to Johnson, “but we do not ing for staff, designated dispatch personnel

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com June 2020 27