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Last updated 5:52 pm CT November 20, 2009.

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Preparing For A Pandemic

MURPHYSBORO -- As swine flu continues to spread state health officials are preparing for the worst. Off-site care centers could be set up to care for a possible overflow of patients. Local emergency rooms have been swamped in recent weeks, but for now there are still beds available. But in the case of a widespread pandemic plans are already in place.

"Getting equipment and coming up with plans on how to take care of this, instead of trying to play catch up during a disaster," said Mike Maddox with Southern Illinois Healthcare.

Maddox is the Illinois Department of Public Health's Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for the 22 southern counties. It's his job to make sure the area is prepared for an extreme shortage of hospital beds. The Southern Illinois Airport is the alternate care site for this area. Maddox says a 300 bed facility could be set up in one of the hangers within a few hours.

"We have a few trailers with beds in it, we pull the beds out we set them up," said Maddox.

Maddox says the hardest part would be bringing in enough staff to care for all of the sick people because help would be needed everywhere.

"Local fire and police and then all the hospitals in our region would help out with getting the place up and rolling," said Maddox.

The plans are all for a worst case scenario, one Maddox hopes never comes.

"Plan for the worst and hope for the best, if we need it it's there, but we hope we never need it," said Maddox.

Maddox says an alternative care site has never had to open in Illinois. Though some similar ones were opened in New Orleans and surrounding areas after Hurricane Katrina.

By Ryan Kruger
rkruger@wsiltv.com

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