Local hospitals ready for major disasters

Local hospitals ready for major disasters

As recently reported, Illinois isn’t ready if (or when) the big quake hits, and the state may not be prepared to respond if a strong earthquake were to hit the Chicago area, but fortunately our local hospitals are. In fact, in May 2011, the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Chicago Department of Public Health coordinated a full-scale, statewide exercise for more than 50 hospitals across Illinois that was centered on responding to patients (specifically children) who would be in need of immediate medical care following a large earthquake on the New Madrid Seismic Zone and resulting aftershocks.

Our regional health care providers are also connected through Illinois Helps, a statewide database that tracks registration of health care professionals who volunteer to respond to major disasters and public health emergencies in the state. More than 3,700 Illinoisans are registered with the system and may be called upon to respond to any number of emergency situations.

Illinois Helps allows hospitals to verify the licenses and credentials of professional health care volunteers who come to their facilities to care for the influx of patients experienced during emergencies. Hospitals are on the front lines of any catastrophic event and regularly plan and prepare for situations ranging from earthquakes to major train derailments to bioterrorism attacks.

Thanks to their unwavering commitment to the communities they serve, hospitals in the metropolitan Chicago area are ready to respond to any disaster that may impact our region.

Kevin Scanlan

President/CEO

Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council