How are local hospitals prepared for disaster?

MIDVALE – Officials with Intermountain Healthcare say they’re keeping a close eye on how hospitals in Houston are handling the amount of people who need treatment after Hurricane Harvey.  Meanwhile, they’re stocking their preparedness facility in Midvale to be ready for any possible disaster, here.

Normally, 2.5 million medical items go through the Kem C. Gardner Supply Chain Center every year, and IHC officials say it was specifically placed in Midvale, so it could be a centralized distribution point for emergency medical supplies for their hospitals and clinics.  Logistics Director Gordon Slade says they have kits with general supplies on hand, and, “The kits are pre-defined for the type of local emergency that you would typically see in a trauma type of situation.  So, we’ve geared those kits, and each facility would order the type of kit they needed and they’re based here, and ready to go.”

The 327 thousand square-foot center is designed to handle a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and has enough generators to keep the place running for days.  Slade says, “We can sustain ourselves in the state of Utah with supplies until FEMA and other agencies can kick in.” He adds that state and local agencies can request supplies if the need arises.  “As we work with state and federal agencies, this would definitely be deployed to where it was needed most.”