Synergy - January/February 2013 - 18

namss focus

Credentialing with
the Lights Out
One MSP’s experience in Disaster
Credentialing at NYU Langone
Medical Center after Hurricane Sandy
By Dorothy Zelenik, CPCS, CPMSM

I

t was the morning after Hurricane Sandy
had hit and run . Lady Liberty, ever
vigilant, had stood her ground as high
winds and 15-foot swells wreaked havoc on
the coastline, causing heavy flooding
throughout New York and New Jersey .
According to the latest radio broadcasts, the
hurricane had pummeled NYU Langone
Medical Center and 322 patients, including
20 newborns, were successfully evacuated
during the storm and transferred to other
facilities in the area . From all accounts, this
heroic rescue mission was nothing short of a
miracle . The hospital staff, along with
firefighters, police officers and other
volunteers, gently carried patients down the
darkened stairwells on “med sleds” while
clutching the newborn infants close to their
chests for safekeeping . At least six workers
were needed to transport each baby out of
the hospital . I also learned that Bellevue
Hospital and the Veterans Affairs hospital —
our close neighbors on First Avenue — also
sustained major flooding and were forced to
evacuate their patients and close their doors
to the public .

Anxious to get a handle on the situation,
I grabbed a flashlight and ventured down
the eight flights in my apartment building .
Our power was out and would be for some
time . My neighbors and I quickly found
out that the subways were flooded, bridges
were out and the city was a complete mess,
especially the shorelines . Walking through
my familiar neighborhood became surreal
as I passed uprooted trees, crushed cars
and broken glass that littered the streets . I
experienced tangled emotions about what
might lie ahead . Expecting the unexpected,
I shuffled along with curious onlookers like
myself who banded together in an attempt
to cross the busy streets of Manhattan
without any functioning traffic lights — a
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SYNERGY J anuary/F ebr uary 2013

death-defying act I was bound to repeat if
I wanted to get home again . As I continued
to walk the few blocks to Langone Medical
Center, I had no idea of the superstorm
that was brewing at work .
After finally reaching the command
center, we learned that the fantastic
news accounts of incredible courage
and heroism were true, and every single
patient indeed was transferred successfully
to nearby hospitals with the attending
physicians and nursing staff close by to
continue patient care .

would work with the medical staff services
at the other facilities by manually listing
the names of the providers who needed
privileges, pulling their credentials files,
gathering their demographic information
— licensure, copy of privileges, etc .
— and sending the information to the
neighboring hospitals involved to help
expedite their credentialing process .
Unfortunately, as we had neither power
nor public transportation, our office
was still in the dark and our team was
physically unable to get to the medical

Our patients had been evacuated and our practitioners
needed to follow their patients — and fast.
Now, to preface the story, our medical
staff services team, along with most of the
facilities in New York, were prepared for
disaster credentialing and had our policies
in place and ready for action . In short, if
our hospital officially declares a disaster, we
might expect an influx of medical volunteers
who we would need to credential quickly .
Most MSPs know the drill: The volunteer
practitioners basically are required to
complete a short application form; you
verify their license; check their ID; pair
them with a staff member for oversight; and
assign the practitioners to help out until the
crisis is officially over .
Yes, a disaster was officially declared,
but in this case there was no influx
of volunteers; just the opposite had
happened . Our patients had been
evacuated and our practitioners needed to
follow their patients — and fast . With no
privileges at the other facilities, we had to
come up with a plan . We decided that we

center on day one of the aftermath .
With the help of a few volunteers with
flashlights, we proceeded to the darkened
file room across the street pulling the
initial 78 credentials files we needed
and carried them back to the command
center where there was power generated
for the workspace we needed, including
emergency lighting and a working printer .
Thankfully, the following day, a few
members of our credentials team were
able to make it in and we set to work
on completing the 78 applications with
the goal to deliver them personally to
the facility where the physicians needed
privileges, as there was no scanning, faxing
or phones available to us .
As the week progressed, demands
increased as other hospitals were added
as possible alternatives for our patients
who sought care . After a week of chaos,
we finally regained electricity in our
Synergy - January/February 2013

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