Nurses Provide Disaster Recovery For Flood Area

Summary

• 560-bed hospital in Eastern Iowa
• One of only two full-service hospitals serving the greater Cedar Rapids area
• The community’s only hospital to provide open-heart surgery capabilities and the area’s only Level II Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• FASTAFF provided 29 nurses to work extended shifts during a time of crisis

FASTAFF’s Rapid Response Provides Relief to Flood-Ravaged City

Most city hospitals are busy places, responding to emergencies and treating patients. However, there is a fine line between busy and overwhelmed when one of two hospitals in a metro area of more than 120,000 people is forced take on most of the patients, staff and services of the other hospital. That’s exactly what happened to one hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In early summer the Cedar River poured over its banks forcing the evacuation of 4,000 homes and businesses as well as one of the two hospitals serving the area. The only place for evacuated patients and staff to go was to the other larger hospital. However, the unexpected patient load pushed the remaining facility to the brink. It needed to continue to serve current patients along with incoming evacuated patients, plus answer the call of a city in crisis.

The remaining open hospital not only had to handle an influx of new patients, but it suffered from its own flood-related issues, including losing power for a day. Perhaps the most daunting issue was the quickly rising patient census. On a typical day, patient census hovers between 250 and 275 patients. During the flood, however, that number rose to 376. Knowing the hospital couldn’t properly serve Cedar Rapids without added help, administrators called FASTAFF.

FASTAFF provides highly qualified nurses in hard-to-fill specialty areas at a moment’s notice. Within days of receiving the call for help, FASTAFF had 29 nurses oriented and working in the remaining Cedar Rapids facility. FASTAFF nurses filled a variety of specialty gaps, including Medical/Surgical, Telemetry, ICU, CCU, Dialysis, ER, LDRP and Cardiothoracic Post Operative.

Throughout the crisis, the hospital remained open and fully operational. The Emergency Room was pushed to the max for more than a week and opened six new rooms in the ER one month early. All but elective surgeries went on as planned, Labor & Delivery remained open and Heart Care Services continued to serve patients. FASTAFF nurses provided crucial staff when it was needed most. Because of FASTAFF’s quick response and access to the most highly trained specialized nurses, the Cedar Rapids hospital was able to avoid an even bigger crisis: a lapse in top quality patient care.

About FASTAFF

Since 1989, FASTAFF has been staffing acute-care facilities with highly trained, top-quality nurses in a variety of specialties. FASTAFF responds with as little as 48-hours notice to crucial and urgent healthcare needs. FASTAFF has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval, showing our commitment to continuous improvement and quality services. For more information about how FASTAFF can assist your facility, contact us at www.fastaff.com or 888-859-8687.