Portneuf Medical Center prepares for eclipse

The total solar eclipse is one month away. It’s a short event, but one that takes a lot of preparation to get ready for.

Many organizations and businesses are developing preparedness plans, including local hospitals. One of those is Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.

PMC said it’s already seen a busy summer with an increased number of trauma patients. But in the midst of treating patients, the hospital is readying for the large number of people expected in Eastern Idaho for the eclipse.

Greg Vickers, trauma program manager at PMC, said the hospital has been doing routine disaster training, called “all hazards approach” to prepare for the eclipse.

“With our all-hazards approach, what we do is we don’t prepare for specific disasters or types of events,” Vickers explained. “We create a general preparedness and use that staffing and those responses to deal with whatever type of event we have.”

Vickers said the hospital will have additional supplies on hand to be ready for an influx of patients. It is also developing staffing plans. There will be a few more staff than normal on shift for the eclipse, with most others on standby in case PMC sees a lot of patients.

Vickers said it is a little challenging not knowing how many people to expect in the area, but he said almost all disasters they see and prepare for, they don’t know about ahead of time. So just knowing about the eclipse and potential it could bring for PMC is a help.

Vickers said the hospital is preparing for two different types of scenarios it could see. The first is an increase in individual patients.

“With an increased number of people coming into our region we’re going to have increased numbers of all types of events such as heart attacks, injuries, and just general ER visits,” Vickers said.

The second scenario deals with larger numbers of patients coming in together.

“The other scenario that we want to be prepared for is a mass casualty event such as a bus wreck or something like that where we have a large number of patients immediately,” Vickers said.

He said PMC has been working with emergency responders to be prepared. The hospital has also been working with other surrounding hospitals to be able to coordinate together. Part of that cooperation would be to send available resources one hospital might have, if another hospital is in dire need.

“We’re working closely with hospitals all along the I-15 corridor from Malad to Eastern Idaho to even further north,” Vickers said. “So it’s been a good opportunity to collaborate with them and work together.”

PMC also plans to hold a scheduled mass casualty event in the next few weeks prior to the eclipse. That will help make sure all of its staff is well prepared.

Vickers said there are a few things the public can do to help as well. The more you can do to take care of yourself, the more it can help PMC. First, Vickers said make sure to take adequate water if you are going to be outside. Make sure you take the proper steps to stay hydrated and avoid heat exhaustion, heat stroke or dehydration.

Another suggestion is to make sure you have any and all medications you may need. Make sure those are filled ahead of time and ready to go. The third thing is, if it’s something that could be taken care of at home, do that. The more people can take care of themselves, the more it could help lower the number of patients coming into the ER.

The total solar eclipse is on Aug. 21.