U.S. hospitals unprepared for chemical, biological terrorism, study says

January 11, 2000
Web posted at: 5:12 p.m. EST (2212 GMT)

(CNN) -- According to a report in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, hospitals and other health care facilities are "poorly prepared" to handle a possible chemical or biological attack against civilian populations in the United States.

Terrorist activities that would effect a large number civilians are of greatest concern. The JAMA study's authors looked at key elements of effective hospital response including decontamination and triage, medical therapy and coordination with public health agencies and emergency response personnel.

"I think there is a general consensus among emergency planners and among the health care community in the United States that our health care preparedness for catastrophic chemical terrorism is not where we want it to be," said Dr. Joseph Barbera of George Washington University.

Experts say biological and chemical attacks shift a large part of the burden away from police and firemen to hospitals and health care workers.

"Our first obligation is to protect the facility, meaning the staff, our current patients, and our capability to take care of patients," Barbera said. "So we need to have immediate perimeter control and to redirect patients to where they can get what they need, which is decontamination."

Currently about 25 percent of hospitals are at some state of readiness for a chemical or biological incident, most of those in major population centers where such attacks are most likely to occur, according to the American Hospital Association.

	VIDEO
Medical Correspondent Dr. Steve Salvatore looks at whether hospitals are prepared for a bioterrorist attack. Windows Media 28K 80K

One such facility is New York's Presbyterian Hospital.

"We had to consider our proximity to areas that might likely be involved," said Dr. Neal Flomenbaum, head of the emergency department at New York Presbyterian Hospital. "The logistics of decontaminating large numbers of patients -- the likelihood that after a period of time, the ground floor of the hospital could be contaminated."

The hospital is stockpiling large quantities of antidotes and antibiotics in case of a bioterrorism attack.

"There's real reason to stockpile them in a central location," Flomenbaum said. "By central, I don't mean in one location for the entire country, but in cities because the last thing you would want to do is have them widely available in the individual facilities and used inappropriately."

Ultimately, experts say there is no guarantee of protection against a biological or chemical attack. When you live in a free society, it's a risk all take. However, experts say, that doesn't mean the United States shouldn't be well prepared.