October 10, 2009 - Traill County Tribune

Page 10 • October 10, 2009
Traill County Tribune
Far-away catastrophe touches Mayville native
Often bad things that happen in faroff
years, have volunteered to go to St. Lu-
places have little impact to most cia to help in whatever ways they are
of us from the May-Port area. Maybe needed.
people utter a sympathetic “tsk, tsk” The “ways they are needed” are
or a shocked “My goodness!” about many, John says. Healthcare providers
some accident or incident. But on September
from around the world, but mostly
9, a report of a hospital fire at from the United States and Canada,
St. Jude’s Hospital on the distant Caribbean
provide their services as occupational
island of St. Lucia was devas-
therapists, nurses, physical therapists,
tating news to Dr. John Lyng, a Mayville
dentists, and ophthalmologists. Phy-
native.
sician volunteers come from emer-
For the past two years, Lyng has gency medicine, pediatrics, internal
been part of a team of doctors from medicine, dermatology, anesthesiology,
SUNY Upstate Medical University in
obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedic
Syracuse, N. Y., who have gone to St. surgery and general surgery. “Many
Lucia and to St. Jude’s Hospital in particular
of the healthcare providers bring their
to help serve the medical needs families, too, and they help with other
of the people who live in the southern tasks around the hospital doing things
end of the island. According to John, such as filing paperwork and helping
the fire at St. Jude’s Hospital in Vieux with buildings and grounds and maintenance,”
Fort “burned down the entire inpatient
he stated.
ward and the operating room. In addition,
According to Lyng, some of the fadiatric
the laboratory, laundry, and pecilities
at St. Jude’s are limited. “The
wards were damaged. The maternity
Emergency Department (ED) has ac-
ward, Emergency Department, cess to a limited array of diagnostic
X-ray room, administrative offices, tests. During my most recent trip the
and outpatient clinic were thankfully lab couldn’t run any blood tests to look
not damaged.”
for heart damage from a heart attack
He went on to say that “Of 47 patients
because they didn’t have any of the
who were in the hospital at the chemicals needed to run the test and
time of the midnight fire, two died in they weren’t sure when the next shipment
the flames and one died of injuries related
would be coming in. We did
to the fire while being transported have access to basic X-rays and a bedside
by ambulance to the hospital on the
ultrasound. There is only one CT
other end of the island.” The cause of scanner on the island and that is over
the fire www.finleymotors.com was not immediately known. www.finleymotors.com an hour away www.finleymotors.com
by road. The hospital
According to a letter sent to St. Jude/
SUNY alumni, while significant portions
of the hospital are in ruins, “The
dedicated staff at St. Jude Hospital are
trying to continue on, and figuring out
how to rebuild, meanwhile using facilities
such as the Vieux Fort Stadium
for short-term use. The surgical capability
has been destroyed, and much of
the equipment lost.” The “alumni” referred
to are the twenty-nine personnel
from Upstate, who, for the past several
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“We make it easy”
only had two ventilators for intubated
patients, one in the OR and one in the
ICU, but the one in the ICU wasn’t
working.”
John indicated that when patients go
to the doctor in St. Lucia, they usually
have to pay for all of their tests or X-
rays at the time of the visit. St. Jude’s
does work out payment plans with patients
and their families, and at times
even agree to barter. “It’s not uncommon
for a family to pay a medical bill
FALL SPECTACULAR
$26,280
FALL SPECTACULAR
$19,999
FALL SPECTACULAR
$29,969
Hwy. 200 South
Finley, ND 58230
800-FINLEY8
701-524-1200
Hwy. 200
Mayville, ND 58257
877-FINLEY6
701-786-2146
www.finleymotors.com
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by giving the hospital eggs, chicken or
beef from their family animals instead
of money.”
John goes on to say that “Because
patients have to pay up front for tests,
doctors try to order as few tests as possible.
In the United States someone
coming to the ED with symptoms of a
kidney stone might undergo blood testing
to check a complete blood panel
count or a basic metabolic (electrolyte)
panel, as well as a CT scan of the abdomen.
At St. Jude’s, we would order
only one or two specific tests from
the basic metabolic panel, and there
is no CT scan available. Instead of a
CT scan we took a bedside ultrasound
machine from the maternity ward and
we could use that to look for a swollen
kidney or fluid buildup from an obstructing
stone.”
Lyng said that “You learn very
quickly to rely on your history-taking
and physical exam skills in order to
make a diagnosis and guide your treatment,
rather than rely on expensive
tests. You have to develop a comfort
level with this style of practice. Many
doctors in the United States practice
‘defensive medicine’ and order numerous
tests because they are afraid they
‘miss something’ and may later get
sued. Malpractice lawsuits are virtually
unheard of in St. Lucia.”
According to the letter from the St.
Jude SUNY alumni who go down to
St. Lucia each year, this kind of professional
reinforcement is extremely
valuable. In fact, “those who have
benefited from the St. Lucia Experience”
are giving back to St. Jude’s in
a special way. They have organized a
drive to help St. Jude’s acquire needed
equipment and supplies so that they
can continue to rebuild. The chair of
the department at Upstate has agreed to
match any funds the alumni raises, up
to a total of $2500.00.
Lyng states that St. Lucia medical
services are limited in other ways as
well. The St. Lucia fire service provides
ambulance services to the island,
but the ambulances are marginally outfitted.
However, ambulance attendants
are trained according to the United
States National Registry of Emergency
Medical Technicians (NREMT) Basic
level. There is only one paramedic on
the island and he is employed by St.
Jude’s.
During their approximately twoweek
stint in St. Lucia, the visiting
docs generally worked 8-10 hour shifts
in the ED, with two working and two
relaxing. “We spent plenty of time on
the beach and touring the island,” John
said. “Popular trips were climbing the
signature mountain peaks of the island,
the Gros and Petite Piton, and visiting
Pigeon Island and Fort Rodney on the
other end ot the island. For a couple of
days four of us took time to stay at an
all-inclusive resort and enjoyed gourmet
food, snorkeling, sailing and sea
kayaking.”
The volunteer accommodations at
the hospital were somewhat sparse but
“certainly adequate,” Lyng said. “Beds
TIRE SPECIALS
TRANSFORCE TM AT
DUELER TM A/T RH-S
DUELER TM H/L ANENZA
were comfortable, showers were hot (if
you took them at the right time). And
the food in the cafeteria was filling.”
A highlight of the St. Lucia experience
for Lyng this year came when
he was asked to develop a Mass Gathering
Medical Care and Disaster Response
plan to train emergency personnel
in disaster relief prior to the
CARIFTA Games that were held in St.
Lucia around Easter. He presented the
plan to the fire/EMS service and joined
with other doctors in giving lectures on
track and field injuries, mass casualty
response/triage, and incident command
structure.
CARIFTA is an annual junior track
and field championship meet that is on
a par with the World Championships.
The Games, run under the International
Association of Athletics Federation
(IAAF), include more than150 separate
events for two age categories for
boys and girls. Many of the athletes
who compete at the CARIFTA games
go on to represent their countries at the
Olympics. This was the first time that
the Games had been held in St. Lucia.
John is currently employed with
an emergency physicians group in
Burnsville, Minn., but he “definitely
plans on returning there (St. Lucia) in
the future” as a volunteer when and as
North Dakota expecting first doses of
H1N1 vaccine to arrive next week
The North Dakota Department
of Health has received information
from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) that the first doses of
novel H1N1 influenza vaccine will
be arriving in the state next week.
The state will receive an initial supply
of 4,000 doses in the form of a
nasal spray called FluMist.
This initial shipment of FluMist
vaccine will be given to health-care
workers in North Dakota. FluMist
vaccine cannot be given to young
children, pregnant women, people
with chronic health conditions or
those older than 50. Therefore, the
decision was made to give these initial
doses to health-care workers who
are at high risk of being exposed to
the virus and who could expose patients
who are at high risk because
of medical conditions. This will help
to ensure that doctors and nurses remain
on the job to care for others.
“Vaccine is going to come into the
state in increments over the next few
SUMITOMO RADIAL TRUCK TIRES
The child pictured was injured in a car accident and was intubated in the St. Jude emergency department. She
had to be transported to the other end of the island for a head CT scan. John was on his way to a BBQ, hence
the civilian clothes, when he was tabbed to go with the ambulance. John said, “I went with, because I knew
where things were in the ambulance and also knew that it would take all three doctors to care for her given the
way medications were packaged and the nature of the equipment in the ambulance.”
weeks,” said State Health Officer
Terry Dwelle, M.D. “We are starting
with health-care workers with these
first doses, but we expect much more
vaccine to be available in the coming
weeks. As we receive more vaccine,
more people will be able to be vaccinated,
and we should have enough
vaccine available for anyone who
wants it. We encourage people to
keep informed through our Web site
and the media about vaccine availability
and to get the vaccine when it
is available for them.”
The CDC estimates that more than
150 million doses ultimately will
be available in the U.S., and North
Dakota should receive more than
380,000 doses. The North Dakota
Department of Health will continue
to release information as more vaccine
becomes available in the state.
For more information, the media
can contact Kirby Kruger at
701.328.2378.
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The fire at St. Jude’s Hospital on the island of St. Lucia started in the
middle of the night. Major portions of the hospital were destroyed and
three lives were lost.
his schedule permits. Even before the
disaster he had hopes of returning, but
now, because he knows the faces of
those who are struggling to rebuild and
restore medical services, he is even
more eager to return. In the meantime
he is part of the effort to find supplies
and funds for St. Jude’s rebuilding
challenge.
John is a graduate of May-Port CG
High School and Mayville State University.
He graduated from the University
of North Dakota School of Medicine
and Health Sciences in 2005 and
went on to do a three-year residency in
emergency medicine at SUNY Upstate
in Syracuse, N. Y. He spent the last
year as an EMS and Disaster Medicine
Fellow in the Department of Emergency
Medicine at Upstate, completing
that fellowship on June 30, 2009. His
parents are Merwin and Myrna Lyng of
Mayville.
Finley Fire Department receives
national FEMA grant
The Finley Fire Department and
seven North Dakota counties have been
awarded a $217,950 staffing grant for
“SAFER” (Staffing for Adequate Fire
and Emergency Response) from the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). The seven counties
include Steele, Wells, Foster, Nelson,
Traill, Griggs, and Eddy.
The SAFER grant provides funding
for fire departments and volunteer
firefighter interest organizations to
help increase the number of trained,
“front-line” firefighters and EMS providers
available in the community. The
grants will also help improve the fire
department and emergency medical
services’ (EMS) response to fire and
other hazards, and protect the health
and safety of the public by providing
training, health and safety programs,
and new equipment and response vehicles.
Please join us in a kick-off celebration
to launch North Dakota firefighter
and EMS recruitment efforts as well as
National Fire Prevention Week.
WHAT:
ND Firefighter & EMS Recruitment
Kick-Off and National Fire Prevention
Week Celebration
WHEN:
Friday, October 9, 2009, 1:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Downtown Finley - Intersection of
4th Street and Center Ave. Please
park on the east side of the street and
check in at the Steele County Press
building.
WHO:
State agencies involved with the project
have been invited
Finley Fire Chief - Merle Ferry
Area Legislators have been invited
Area city and county government officials
have been invited
WHY:
Kick-off SAFER grant and National
Fire Prevention Week. Children from
area schools will be attending, and
will participate in home fire safety
activities including “stop, drop and
roll,” smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers.
Kids can enjoy inflatables
from Games Galore and an obstacle
course. See new fire trucks purchased
with grant funds, an auto extrication
demonstration, and much more.
“The Assistance to Firefighters
Grants (AFG) program has been instrumental
in building capacity and
providing needed resources for our
nation’s firefighters,” said FEMA Administrator,
R. David Paulison. “From
the purchase of equipment to first responder
training, the AFG program
has helped improve response capabilities
and saved lives and property
in communities throughout the United
States.”
Since 2004, AFG has provided
almost $3.1 billion in grants to fire
departments and first responder organizations
to purchase response equipment,
personal protective gear, vehicles
and fire prevention activities.
AFG is administered cooperatively
by two FEMA components: the National
Preparedness Directorate and
the United States Fire Administration.
For a full list of FY 2007 AFG recipients
and other information, visitwww.
firegrantsupport.com.