Surviving Ike: How One Texas Lab Weathered the Storm
What Your Lab Can Learn From It

In its brief lifespan of only 13 days, September’s Hurricane Ike wreaked a great deal of havoc. Whipping through Cuba, Haiti and the United States, this Category 4 storm caused over 100 deaths, billions in damages and is now called the third most destructive hurricane to ever hit the United States.

One hospital that lay right in Ike’s path was Brazosport Regional Health System (BRHS). Located in Lake Jackson, Texas—just 10 miles from the Gulf of Mexico at an elevation of only 14 feet—this lab had to make quick preparations for evacuation and possible flooding. It also relied on expert support from Beckman Coulter to help them weather the storm.

Preparing for the Worst
Five days before Ike was predicted to hit, BRHS began its safety meetings—and everyone was on full alert. The lab, which resides in a small metal building just across the parking lot, also jumped into action. Fortunately, the lab was already prepared with a detailed Hurricane Plan—a culmination of past lessons learned from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and an excellent guide for the coming emergency.

“By having a Lab Hurricane Plan in place, all our preparations become less of a panicked rush—and more of straightforward guide to follow,” says Patty Kersey, MT (ASCP), Hematology and Reference section leader. “Even though we all have other things on our minds during a storm, we also know how important it is for this to be a seamless process, so we can get the lab shut down properly and prepare for an easier start-up again.”

For Ike, the lab plan was simple: Leave the largest analyzers—the Beckman Coulter® LH 750 hematology analyzer, two UniCel® DxC 600 Synchron® clinical systems and a UniCel DxI 800 Access® immunoassay system —in the laboratory and create a temporary STAT lab in the main hospital building with a few smaller instruments, such as a point of care (POC) system and Beckman Coulter’s Ac∙T diff™ hematology analyzer to run basic chemistry results and CBCs.

With the hurricane plan in place, the team (divided into three categories: E1s, E2s and E3s) quickly and decisively got to work.

The preparation team, or E2s, packed supplies and prepared for a quick move. Fortunately, the lab had already done its homework—by creating an emergency STAT menu and a complete packing list of supplies. These lists defined every test the STAT lab would offer, as well as all the essential items needed to run them.  

“Over the years, we’ve really fine-tuned these lists, so when the time comes, we can just calmly hand them over to technologists to start gathering the supplies,” says Kersey. “During hurricane season, for example, we keep extra Ac∙T diff reagents—knowing that we could likely have to evacuate and start to run an emergency lab, like we did this September. It’s just a matter of thinking through every little detail.”

Two days before the storm hit, the community began mandatory evacuations—and the lab kicked into high gear. Employees made trips to the hospital to transfer supplies; others got the make-shift STAT lab up and running; some were released to board up their homes; and E2s were busy shutting down and covering the leave-behind equipment.

Meanwhile, the hospital emergency team was activated and it began transferring the in-patients to other facilities out of the storm path.  

Riding Out the Storm
When Hurricane Ike finally hit in the early morning hours of Saturday, September 13, Edna Lydic, medical technologist and E1 volunteer, was operating the satellite STAT lab in the hospital. For about 48 hours, she lived out of a patient room and suitcase, running the STAT lab to support emergency room demand, until it finally closed.

Fortunately, by the time Hurricane Ike made U.S. landfall, it had decreased from a Category 4 to a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of 110 mph.

“Our hospital was very fortunate,” says Kersey. “It had only one broken window, some minor roof leaks and had to be on emergency power for about four days. But when you think about what the damage could have been, it’s amazing. It could have been so much worse. And our laboratory building—a metal building that basically sits across the parking lot—sustained virtually no damage whatsoever.”

Returning to Work: PROService™ in Action
By Sunday morning, just 24 hours after the storm passed, the hospital started admitting new patients and the emergency room was open again. In the lab, essential re-entry employees (E3s) surveyed the damage, surprised at the lack thereof. They also began the process of restarting all of the testing equipment.

The lab’s chemistry and immunoassay systems—two DxC 600s and a DxI 800—came back up relatively easily, requiring just a few online chats with Beckman Coulter tech support.

When the techs tried to restart the LH 750, however, the system alarms alerted them to some potential performance issues.

Meanwhile, in Miami, Florida (USA) Beckman Coulter’s team was already on the job—remotely monitoring the LH 750 issues online through PROService remote diagnostics*. The team immediately noticed the system laser alarms and called the lab to inquire. Once the lab confirmed the problem, they initiated a service call. They located the nearest field service engineer—situated about 70 miles from Brazosport—and confirmed that he had both the correct part and enough gas to make it safely to the lab and back.

Jim Jaeger, Field Service engineer, was the one to get the call. Already in his car nearby, and equipped with a laser, he responded to the call within the hour. Once on site, Jim was able to install a new laser and have the LH 750 back on line within 30 minutes.

 “We were highly impressed that the PROService team was so proactive and watching our systems so closely,” says Kersey. “We realized that someone really was out there and cared about us. We thought that was just amazing.”

“Thanks to Jim’s timely efforts, we were able to get the LH 750 back up quickly, which could have saved us as much as 48 hours in downtime,” she adds. “Just to be able to tell the hospital administration that we were back online and could offer a full test menu again was phenomenal. It wouldn’t have been possible without the great service we received from Beckman Coulter.”

By Monday afternoon, just two days after the storm, the hospital started serving outpatients again; and the lab was fully functioning back in its permanent building—ready to serve the hospital and community once again.

The Value of Excellent Service
Behind the scenes, nearly 30 Beckman Coulter employees were watching the hurricane situation closely—conducting daily calls to determine when various hospitals would be closing and reopening, when they could receive reagents and which carriers (FedEx, UPS, etc.,) were shipping to each location. The dedicated team tracked all the information to make certain each affected laboratory had what they needed, when they needed it.

“Through the entire ordeal, Beckman Coulter was so helpful,” says Kersey. “We received phone calls from employees on both coasts—asking how we were, if we had all the reagents we needed and if there was anything they could ship to us. We even had someone in the local area offer to drive out any reagents, if need be. It was just amazing. Fortunately, we were already stocked with plenty of supplies, but I thought it was very thoughtful and responsive.

“We’ve learned from experience over the years and have kind of gotten this plan down to a science,” she adds. “I think what makes this whole thing work so well is teamwork. As lab employees, we’re all in this together and have a common goal: To provide as much patient care as we can until the hospital has to close down and to get back up and running as quickly as possible after the event.”

* Available for United States and Canada only.