Hospitals handle back-to-back storms

Prince William hospitals were pretty full Tuesday night and probably will be tonight as well.

But not necessarily with patients.

Sentara Potomac Hospital and Prince William Hospital had staff spend the night -- or weekend -- during the last storm and are prepared to do it again.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and will implement our Emergency Weather Plan as needed," Leigh Dunlap, spokeswoman for Sentara Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, said.

"We are stocking supplies," said Mary Beth Gibson, spokeswoman for Prince William Hospital in Manassas. "We're getting ready to do it again."

Both hospitals have snow emergency plans in place and those plans were activated this past weekend and will be again as necessary.

Last time, Prince William Hospital opened its emergency command center to coordinate and monitor activities around the hospital as well as to schedule transportation for staff and physicians as well as patients and their families.

It enlisted the help of the National Guard to bring people to and from the hospital.

"When the governor declared a state of emergency and authorized the National Guard to be available for transportation needs, we requested four two-man Humvee units," Gibson said. "They were here Friday evening until early afternoon on Monday. They also stayed over at the hospital.

"The National Guard was invaluable during this time. In addition to transporting staff and physicians, they transported more than a dozen patients and their families to their homes," Gibson said.

During last weekend's blizzard at Sentara Potomac, the Nursing Office coordinated staff transportation needs.

"We had a tremendous response from the community during December's storm and many of the same people called us to volunteer to transport staff again," Dunlap said.

About 60 people volunteered their four-wheel drive vehicles, but only about 10-15 were needed since many employees stayed at the hospital.

"We provided sleeping areas and food, free of charge, for staff who stayed throughout the weekend," Dunlap said. "More than 900 meals were served."

Prince William Hospital boarded 70 to 80 staff members. "We had inflatable mattresses and cots and put them up in offices and waiting areas," Gibson said.

Cynda Tipple, chief operating officer for Prince William, also arranged for movie nights -- complete with popcorn -- for those who stayed Friday and Saturday.

"People voted for their choice of movies. The two movies were 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'The Bucket List,'" Gibson said. "Sunday night, there was a Super Bowl party.

"The camaraderie has been exceptional," she said.

Neither hospital lost power during the last storm. Both have generators.

The hospitals both report snow babies were born during the storm.

"No unusual stories, although one mom came in by ambulance," Dunlap said. "We had seven deliveries on Saturday and two on Sunday."

"The Birthing Center was very busy," Gibson said.

Neither of the hospitals' emergency rooms, however, saw many patients during the storm. However, when people were able to venture outside and start digging out, predictable injuries sent some to the hospitals.

"Visits increased to normal levels once the roads were cleared. It was not busier than usual, although we did see some snow-related injuries. The most common are fractures/sprains from falls," Dunlap said.

"By 10 or 11 a.m. Sunday, we were starting to see more patients. Monday was quite busy, with about half of our patients being treated for weather-related injuries," Gibson said. "Patients have had injured ankles, elbows and backs from shoveling and cleaning up debris. We have also had some people reporting chest pain."

Probably won't be much different this time around.

Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.