Expert gives tips on handling mass attack

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A disaster planning expert says the walking wounded from any mass attack should not be admitted to area hospitals as the hospitals should concentrate on treating those in critical condition. Dr. Henry Siegelson of Atlanta told Nevada's Homeland Security Committee Wednesday that vapor or gas is the mostly likely weapon to be used by terrorists. And he said the state should not rely on a national plan to transfer the victims out of state.

A national emergency plan, he said "looks good on paper but it won't work," referring to the possibility of sending patients to other areas. "Depend on yourself," he told the committee.

Siegelson echoed comments made by Mike Meyers, who has been developing a metropolitan medical response system for Clark County. Meyers said the walking wounded could number "tens of thousands" in any mass attack and the hospitals would be inundated.

Meyers said only the most critical should be "allowed through the door" of the hospital.

In the New York City disaster, Siegelson said the hospitals were overwhelmed by those who had less serious injuries.

Communities should designate sites away from the disaster as treatment centers where those who are not critically injured can go. These can include gyms, convention centers and large meeting places. "Save the hospital for the treatment of the critically ill," he said.

William Welch, executive director of the Nevada Hospital Association, said there are three dozen potential sites on the Las Vegas Strip where casinos have showrooms and other facilities, and those sites could be used to treat injured people. Welch suggested there are a number of potential locations in Reno for these secondary treatment locations. Siegelson said a hospital should "at the very minimum, be prepared to handle at least one patient exposed to hazardous material." This requires training, protective equipment and decontamination systems. "If the hospital can function and deliver care to a single patient, than the policies can be easily configured to manage 10, 30 or even 100 patients," the Georgia physician said.

Business and governments must develop their own disaster preparedness programs, he said. For instance, businesses might have decontamination kits available in case of a gas or vapor attack.

Meyers said a plan to respond to these situations for Clark County is about 90 percent complete at a cost so far of about $600,000.