53.8% health care workers willing to work.

janeten,

Regarding this comment; "Let me assure you that there will be a medical draft!"

   Regarding nursing homes I feel they have little capacity to help with flu patients. They have their own staffing issues. In the hospital preparations section of this web site I listed 6 reasons I feel nursing home patients should not be allowed to be sent to the ER. I discussed this issue with the local public health director who stated during a major flu pandemic he would probably mandate that nursing home patients could not be sent to the ER. Many of the most complicated and difficult patients I deal with on a daily basis are nursing home patients.  The size of the box we need to build just got a lot smaller.   ER Doc

 frisky that is unrealistic, have you ever been  to a nursing home? we are very limited in what we can do  in a crisis, that why we send them to you, you have all the neat toys, we still take a blood pressure with a real bp cuff,   roxy

 frisky, we still have to honor a full code, there better be  a higher up than you or me telling the families no I can't send you love one to the hospital. believe me in my area , they'll take the patient  themselves, with a large group  of very angry armed people, to the hospital,  nursing homes are owned by a corporations around here, they aren't going to except flu  patients without alot of government payback. plus we have a duty to protect the residents that live there, bringing this flu is not protecting them.the staff will run for the hills. and it won't work, no staff, no care.  i might add the only high tech gadget i have is a pulse ox. accu check, and can do Iv"s if the meds and machine is delivered from the pharmacy, no 02 in a wall here , done by consentrator { 3 extra}, and a few 02  tanks in house. now tell me how ,we are going to care for these really sick people, except to watch them die.i guess it will be a hospice, i get to change the linen, maybe not if laundry  personal doesn't show up.  the state mandates a 3 day plan  for a crisis, food,water,ect, what happens,when there is no fuel for the generator .    i don't believe this will happen , unless the money rolls in. there will have to be police at the front door to protect the patients and staff. the people in the neighbor hood will bring us their sick, if unable to go to the hospital  i know you are trying to be realistic about this, but so am I.   roxy

roxy They are not going to get anything in the hospital or off site centers either. All the bells and whistles will be gone.  we are looking at triage only a few will get any care at all Limited resources can only go so far.

They are takling about off site centers anyway, this is what will happen. Hospitals cant handle the surge. Now if your pts were transfered to another NH in the area. and your building freed up for flu pts it would be far easier to set up than putting flu victims in High schools. They have 0 infrastructure. They wouldnt even have call bells, or any concentrators.

Mary J wrote: Weeellll...I'm not sure how I'll react to real situations, but as a Home Health Nurse, and having my own very small private duty nursing business, I expect to be busy helping wherever I can.   I agree with ER DOC, (BTW-many thanks for sharing your excellent ideas and strategies!) Using the telephone to track patient's conditions and teaching families how to provide basic care at home is the most effective & realistic way to respond to big numbers.   So far-no news from my hospital about BF planning. We are having JCAHO next month, so hopefully we'll begin after that.   My plan is to prepare enough for friends and family-then be available for/caregiver training & support- I'll offer telephone monitoring services when public planning is more well known and out in the open.   BUT-if mass casualties are high...and the lethality is still >50%...I may find myself on a slow boat off shore for a while!