Peconic Bay Medical Center Weathers Irene

With Tropical Storm Irene bringing less damaging winds and storm surge than initially expected, the (PBMC) were able to weather the storm with little issue, according to officials at the hospital.

Though the hospital briefly lost power when one woman was on the way to an emergency C-section during the storm, Sharon Tietze, Vice President of Medical Staff Management, said the backup generators located on site immediately kicked in.

"Patient care wasn't compromised for a single moment," she said. The rest of the night continued without a hitch, she said, as the hospital took in patients, boarded extra staff for the night, and loaned nurses to the Red Cross shelter at Riverhead High School.

The day after Irene was also quiet, Tietze added.

"Typically Mondays are very very busy," she said. "If anything it's been very quiet. That may be because there's no power anywhere so people don't have access to more power tools."

The hospital suffered little wind damage in the storm, with some "major leaks from the roof, but nothing that can't be repaired." 

Tietze credited the Hospital Incident Command System, or HICS, for helping to keep everything under control during the storm. HICS is a emergency plan used by hospitals nationwide in case of emergency.

Arthur Crowe, Assistant Vice President for Radiology and Support Services at the hospital, said the HICS plan allowed hospitals from across the East End to coordinate their efforts. For example, he said, the PBMC sent a generator to Southampton Hospital after theirs failed during the storm.

Crowe added HCIS plans include flexible roles that can be filled by different members of the hospital staff in an emergency until they are relieved by more senior staff.

"That's the beauty of the plan," he said. "You're using the resources you have on hand."

HICS has four levels of emergency, with four being the highest. Tietze said the highest the hospital reached during the storm was level 2.

"Had the Hurricane hit like it was supposed to, we definitely would have hit HICS Level 3," Tietze said.