There’s no need to cancel your doctor’s appointment the week of the Republican National Convention. The major hospital systems in Northeast Ohio said Wednesday they are ready for an influx of potential new patients, all while taking care of their normal load of patients as well.
University Hospitals’ Case Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Ron Dziedzicki said they’ve planned for more than a year for even worst case scenarios, like a terrorist attack.
“Bad news about today’s world is you have terrorists called ISIL,” the retired U.S. Army General said.
Dziedzicki said planning has included routine drills and an update to the hospital’s annual Hazard Vulnerability Assessment to include plans for a mass casualty event.
“We added the potential for large numbers of potential casualties for protestors coming in and how we were going to be able to provide care to maintain normal operations,” he said.
Cleveland Clinic said Wednesday also said it's “business as usual” during the convention week.
The area’s four major hospital systems, including UH, Cleveland Clinic, St. Vincent’s and MetroHealth are collaborating efforts to provide healthcare coverage to the more than 50,000 convention goers, with hopes that coverage does not affect normal operations. Those plans will be put to the test in fewer than two weeks.
---
Follow Derick Waller on Facebook and Twitter
Download the newsnet5 app:
