Pandemic triage tents a success in initial tests

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I found this article interesting because we had started a medical tents business ourselves last year, which were to be used as mobile emergency triage units and to be placed outside the hospitals.  Although the site is still currently up, we will  be taking it down next month along with the Mid East forum.  We knew the med tents would probably be a good idea, but we weren't sure if it would ever catch on.     

Pandemic triage tents a success in initial tests

Early results of a test of a portable triage centre meant for outbreaks of infectious disease have been successful, health officials in Edmonton say.
The regional health authority is testing a portable triage centre as part of the city's flu pandemic preparations.
The centre includes a series of tents set up outside a hospital, where people with a cold or flu are assessed and treated without risking bringing their germs into a regular health centre.
"We wanted to develop and test a method of dealing with higher numbers of people who need to be assessed for fever and cough related to a potential influenza pandemic," said Dr. Marcia Johnson of Edmonton's Capital Health.
In the three days that the clinic has been open to the public, it has performed admirably, said Shawn Grono, the project's director.
"I've worked in emerg for a long time," said Grono. "It's just like being in emerg where you have patients, you have carts full of supplies, you have technical equipment, you have vital sign monitors."
The clinic can handle up to 600 patients a day, and it is equipped with a lab, X-ray technology and a link to the digital imaging station.
The system packs into a couple of trailers and can be set up in six hours, complete with its own power, water, heat and air circulation system designed to prevent the spread of germs.
The tent has been warm, comfortable and busy despite -18 C weather outside.
"I think it's a great thing because it gives people somewhere to go to get good service and to get to the bottom of their problems," said patient Bill Penrice.
The tent will stay open for two more weeks, and then will be tested again in the summer under extreme heat conditions.
A Canadian company came up with the idea of triage tents during the SARS crisis in 2003, when some hospitals in Toronto were locked down. Sick patients were sent elsewhere for fear that they could become infected when they came to emergency.
Edmonton is the first to test the system with real patients. Health Canada, the Ontario government and the city of Calgary have also bought systems but have yet to try them out.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/02/08/pandemic-tent.html