HackensackUMC to Deploy Emergency Staff to Ocean County in Advance of Possible Nor'easter Storm on Wednesday Evening

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Hackensack University Medical Center

Nov 06, 2012, 05:55 ET

HACKENSACK, N.J., Nov. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to Hurricane Sandy, Hackensack University Medical Center has been deploying its Mobile Satellite Emergency Department (MSED) to locations throughout the state. It is now preparing to dispatch a team to operate the MSED unit currently stationed at Ocean Medical Center in Brick, NJ (Ocean County) in anticipation of a possible nor'easter storm on Wednesday, November 7. An operations and medical team of 10 will be deployed on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. from the main campus in Hackensack.

HackensackUMC's MSED unit was first deployed to Hillsborough, NJ in Somerset County on Monday, October 29. The team, led by Dr. Joseph Feldman, chairman of the Department of Emergency Services, was charged with providing emergency healthcare to surrounding low-lying communities that were previously cut off from emergency care during Hurricane Irene last year. As it turned out, Dr. Herman Morchel and the MSED team delivered a healthy 5 lb., 2 oz., baby boy – Liam Alexander Schleppy - at 11 p.m. as the ambulance that was transporting this new baby's mother became trapped in mud on its way to the local medical center.

On November 1, the MSED unit was subsequently deployed to Ocean Medical Center – where it remains on-site. In addition to Ocean Medical Center, HackensackUMC has been working with three local hospitals to supplement care during their time of need: Community Medical Center in Toms River and Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood, both affiliates of Barnabas Health; and Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

The HackensackUMC operations and medical team consists of: an MSED coordinator, three security officers, two physicians, three registered nurses, and one X-ray technician. The team will remain overnight in Brick, and will operate the MSED on Thursday, November 8.

To date, HackensackUMC MSED units have treated nearly 150 patients since its original deployment to Hillsborough, NJ last week. On its main campus, the MSED unit remains outside of the Emergency and Trauma Center, prepared to help supplement care during the storm for medical and social-medical patients.

The MSED vehicles, a breakthrough in medicine and cutting-edge technology, are one of only a few mobile hospitals of their kind in the nation, funded through a unique partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. The core of the mobile hospital complex exist in the form of a 43-foot semi truck with expandable sides, and are fully outfitted with seven critical care beds each having monitor defibrillator capability; portable digital X-ray unit; telemedicine capability; portable field laboratory; small pharmaceutical cache; overhead medical procedure lighting; and onboard medical gases. They are rapidly deployable, fully-functional mobile emergency departments.

HackensackUMC will work with the New Jersey Department of Health to re-evaluate the needs of the state on Thursday afternoon to determine the necessity of deployment continuation.

About Hackensack University Medical Center
HackensackUMC, a non-profit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, New Jersey, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state, and home to the only Level II Trauma Center in the county. This 775-bed facility has gone beyond traditional thinking by creating an entire campus of care, including: the Heart & Vascular Hospital, the John Theurer Cancer Center, the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, and the Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital. As a result of using science and creativity to push medicine further, HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey and one of the top four New York metro area hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report, and has received nine national rankings in: Cancer; Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Urology; and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital ranked as one of the Top 25 Best Children's Hospitals for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2012-13 Best Children's Hospitals list. The medical center has also been named one of the Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals® and one of America's 50 Best Hospitals by HealthGrades®. It is listed among the Leapfrog Top Hospitals List, received 18 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission, and is listed as one of the 50 Best Hospitals in America by Becker's Hospital Review. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence. The medical center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls, and remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more about one of the nation's 50 best hospitals, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.

SOURCE Hackensack University Medical Center