When disaster strikes, the first safe haven you want to get to is a hospital. But what if the hospital is damaged or put out of action, too? The sick and the injured have nowhere to go to get help. A critical lifeline for vulnerable people is no longer available.

Today is World Health Day, and the World Health Organization and international partners are underscoring the importance of investing in health infrastructure that can withstand hazards and serve people in immediate need. They are also urging health facilities to implement systems to respond to internal emergencies, such as fires, and ensure the continuity of care.

Mike Maddox, POD Hospital Coordinator for EMS Region 5, plays a critical role with not only Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, but the 22 other hospitals in Southern Illinois that work in tandem with major disaster preparedness.

"The goal is to make sure hospitals are prepared individually and work together regionally should there be a disaster in the state," Maddox said. "In terms of emergency preparedness, our facilities are on par if not above national standards."

With Memorial Hospital of Carbondale having taken the lead in coordinating disaster preparedness for the region, a hazards vulnerability analysis reveals the top threats to Southern Illinois include tornadoes, ice storms, earthquakes (low probability, but can wreak a huge amount of damage should it occur) and man-made incidents, such as terrorist activities, school bus accidents and plane crashes.

In response, every hospital is required to do disaster drills and exercises, Maddox said.

"We have also purchased supplies and equipment to use in case of a disaster. We make a real effort to know our community partners, the police, fire and local health departments, so that should a disaster occur, we can all work together efficiently on a local, regional and national level," Maddox said.

It can take plenty of work preparing for emergencies on a larger level, such as wars, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, disease outbreaks, famine, radiological incidents and chemical spills, and on a smaller, more internal level, such as fires and loss of power or water.

"The law mandates that a hospital should be able to stand alone for three days in case of electricity, water, food and gas outages," said Bobby Whitledge, director of plant operations and security and safety officer at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion. "We are one step above that. We can go seven days on our own should a disaster occur."

"Every now and then, Mother Nature will throw you a curve," Whitledge said. "When it finally happens, we will be ready."

Built in 2002 under the Life Safety Codes of 2000, the HRMC building is situated on bedrock and set up to withstand some pretty strong earthquakes and winds, Whitledge said.

Constantly implementing safety drills and investing in health infrastructure that will come into play in case of a disaster, Whitledge said Sept. 11 opened a lot of eyes.

"That's when Homeland Security was set up by the president," Whitledge said. "Now the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is trying to educate us so that we are not flat-footed in case of a disaster."

Dan Evans, SIH facilities engineer director and co-chair of the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale Safety Committee, noted that as a hospital, they do most of their emergency preparedness planning on a defendant play strategy.

"If something happens, we are expected to take care of ourselves for a certain period of time," Evans said. "There is a very specific command in place and a considerable amount of time and effort being spent on being prepared."

Tom Stewart, SIH administrative director of facilities, said they have spent more than $1.5 million on just seismic upgrades to MHC over the past 15 years.

"Structural engineers have made the building more rigid, anywhere that patients sleep overnight," Stewart said. "Memorial Hospital of Carbondale is now earthquake-resistant."

From decontamination equipment and training to deal with patients contaminated with some form of hazardous material, to storing equipment on trailers so it can be moved to another hospital should it be needed, the hospital also has the capability to set up a 300-bed, mobile army surgical-type hospital, should a major disaster occur, Stewart said.

"We have already identified several locations we can use for this," Stewart said.

In case of an internal threat, such as an infant abduction from the hospital, Evans said there are systems in place such as an infant security system and 24-hour access control. Newborn babies are also banded and the unit locks down if someone approaches the door with a banded baby or attempts to cut off the band.

"We're a healthcare provider and are expected to be here when no one else is," Evans said. "And we are making fairly large investments to ensure we are prepared."

poornima.jayaraman@thesouthern.com / 618-351-5019