Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
Pandemic triage tents a success in initial tests |
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Albert
Admin Joined: April 24 2006 Status: Offline Points: 47746 |
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Posted: February 08 2007 at 4:03pm |
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
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 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 |
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It is a great idea. Saw the article re:Edmonton when it originally appeared. The tent will be across the street from the hospital. Hope they have the staff to run it.
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what if a person has something other than a bird flu varient and then after being in a tent with people who do have it...becomes infected...along with the person who brought him/her?
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How will they keep a tent warm in the winter and cool in the summer?
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Canadian Boy
advanced Member Joined: December 11 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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Good point Ann. They would then have to quarantine everyone that passes through the tent!
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Where will the staff, workers come from? we cant fill the openings in a hospital, much less a tent, or a 1000 tents
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Dlugose
Valued Member Joined: July 28 2006 Location: Colorado Status: Offline Points: 277 |
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Triage would have to keep many people out of the unit who most likely have some other respiratory disease. You would have to weigh the probabilities and consequnces to come up with triage rules depending on such things as the rate of new H5N1 cases, lethality etc. People without fevers or sign of lung infection that was a rapid progression from a respiratory illness should be excluded and sent home to be isolated if possible until it became clear whether they had just a normal URI. Let's say 50% of the people with sign of lung involvement and a fever were testing positive for H5N1, and in most of these cases there was a known H5N1 exposure and progression to pneumonia within 3 days of the first respiratory symptoms. You might develope a scale to weigh the probable odds of having H5N1, and the odds of getting it from others in the hospital tent, and not allow someone in unless the odds were 75% or there was an unusually rapid progression or history of close prolonged contact.
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Dlugose RN AAS BA BS Cert. Biotechnology. Respiratory nurse
June 2013: public health nurse volunteer, Asia |
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Hotair
Valued Member Joined: March 17 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 667 |
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Vstr, after Katrina hit, I went down to assist with the recovery effort. the feds brought in this enormous tent with air conditioning to keep the animals from going into heat stroke. I was amazed at how fast it was constructed.
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Did they have the electricity after Katrina to use the air conditioners, or did they use generators?
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Dan,
I hear of talk that we can expect tents to start popping up all over the place. where will the staff, the workers come from?
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kparcell
Valued Member Location: Florida Joined: June 03 2006 Status: Offline Points: 541 |
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My own informal poll of nurses shows that they believe that hospitals will be the most dangerous places during a pandemic. Triage tents will prevent BF from spreading through hospitals.
In US, expect state of emergency, nationization of all health care, "drafting" of all health-care professionals (to keep them from staying home), and pay directly from government. |
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pheasant
Admin Group Joined: May 20 2006 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 9851 |
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interesting...here in florida where the tornadoes hit ,it was reported the the lady lake hospital went to its highest alert,i heard it on the news ,(that hospital was 2 or 3 miles away from the hit)well the next day a huge pod was in there parking lot,turns out there was very little injury,i wonder if that pod is for a triage tent,its weird ,i was trying to figure out what they needed a pod for,....this makes sense.
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The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself......FDR
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