Panel: Trauma centers not ready for terrorist attacks

Monday, March 24, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

Staffing shortages, medical malpractice insurance crisis and under-funding could leave America's trauma centers ill-prepared in the face of a biological or chemical terrorist attack, a panel of medical professionals warned Sunday in Las Vegas.

Heightened awareness of such threats should mean more emphasis on preparing hospitals and emergency rooms as first responders, said members of the Society of Trauma Nurses, who began a two-day conference today at Caesars Palace.

Dr. John Fildes, who spoke at a news conference Sunday, said the malpractice insurance crisis has left the Las Vegas Valley's critical care network vulnerable.

"Nevada has made some strides, but we still have a lot more to do," said Dr. John Fildes, trauma medical director at University Medical Center. "We will have serious difficulty dealing with mass casualties if trauma doctors continue to leave our community."

The 10-day shutdown of UMC's trauma center last summer highlighted risks, Fildes said. The center was reopened after doctors were guaranteed emergency malpractice insurance coverage as part of the county hospital's insurance plan.

The current Asian mystery illness that has sickened hundreds in several countries is another example of the need for preparedness, said Dr. Kenneth Maddox, vice chairman of the surgery department at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been circulating drafts of a proposal known as the Health Powers Act, which would give medical officials more authority in quarantining patients suspected of harboring infectious diseases such as smallpox.

"If a patient comes to me and I think they have this Hong Kong virus, I can't make them stay in the hospital. They can walk out anytime they want," Maddox said. "That patient can then go out and cough on 150 people and then you have 150 prospective patients who don't even know it."

Of the more than 100 patients diagnosed with the virus at one Hong Kong hospital, 50 percent were medical workers or family of medical workers, Maddox said. There are rumored to be 20 cases of the illness in Houston, as well, Maddox said.

An online message board run by the society has been filled with questions and comments about how nurses can protect themselves and their families while treating potential victims of bioterrorism, Mary Kate FitzPatrick, president-elect of the organization, said.

"The Internet board has been an important way for our members to talk about their feelings, share solutions and find out what's being done," FitzPatrick said.