Hudson Valley Hospital Center Makes it Through Hurricane Irene
Hudson Valley Hospital Center made it through Hurricane Irene relatively unscathed thanks to advance preparation and the dedication of hospital employees.
More than 100 hospital employees were at work by 8 a.m. Sunday. About 50 employees had spent the night at the hospital Saturday to ensure sufficient staffing levels.
"Fortunately, there were no major problems due to the storm,'' said John C. Federspiel, President of Hudson Valley Hospital Center. "I want to thank the dedicated employees who worked so hard to prepare for the storm, as well as those who went the extra mile to get to work when they were needed.''
Federspiel said he was able to personally thank many staff members on Sunday morning when he and other administrators came in to check on conditions. He said there was only minor flooding that did not affect patient care and only one minor storm-related emergency room visit early Sunday morning.
For the past two days, HVHC staff had been working with town, county, EMS agencies and other hospitals to make sure emergency procedures would work seamlessly when the storm arrived.
Justin Costable, EMS Coordinator and Emergency Management Director at HVHC, said the hospital was prepared with backup generators, extra supplies of food and water and had gone over evacuation and triage procedures with weekend staff.
The Hospital coordinated with other hospitals and EMS agencies on bed capacity in case HVHC needed to take in evacuated patients from other hospitals. All facilities and their systems were checked and alternate transportation was arranged for employees who could not drive to work.
Costable said a command center was set up at the Hospital to manage staffing and monitor the facility. Fortunately, there were no major incidents.
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Hudson Valley Hospital Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, a national organization that sets high standards for patient care and safety. PUBLIC NOTICE: The Joint Commission conducts accreditation surveys of all hospitals. The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the organization's compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards. The survey results are used to determine whether, and the conditions under which, accreditation should be awarded the organization. Joint Commission standards deal with organization quality and safety-of-care issues and the safety of the environment in which care is provided. Anyone believing that he or she has pertinent and valid information about such matters should contact hospital administration. If these concerns are not resolved by the hospital, you may request a public information interview with the Joint Commission's field representatives at the time of the survey. Information presented at the interview will be carefully evaluated for relevance to the accreditation process. Requests for a public information interview must be made in writing and should be sent to the Joint Commission. The request must also indicate the nature of the information to be provided at the interview. Such requests should be addressed to: Division of Accreditation Operations, Office of Quality Monitoring, Joint Commission, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 or faxed to (630) 792-5636 or emailed to
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