Philadelphia Medics Gear up to Treat the Faithful

Sept. 22--On July Fourth, as thousands packed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, prepared to party beneath the fireworks, a high-tech medical tent was ready to treat anyone who might need help.

That tent and others will be back in action this weekend for the visit of Pope Francis, with at least one big difference:

Medical staff will be ready for visitors who had significant medical problems long before they got there.

Wherever Francis goes -- Ecuador in July, Cuba this week -- he is greeted by cancer patients, people in wheelchairs, and others who seek healing through his touch.

The Rev. Raymond Collins, director of the National Shrine of St. John Neumann at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Northern Liberties, said he had no doubt the same will happen in Philadelphia.

Francis "likes to reach out back to people," Collins said. "That's the kind of pope he is. And they feel that they are getting close to God when they touch the pope, there is no question."

Medical experts say they have planned carefully for this.

"You have the elderly and injured seeking his blessing," said Pete Sananman, chair of the Papal Task Force for Penn Medicine's three emergency departments. "Children with complicated medical problems."

Then there will be the visitors who are healthy but older than those who usually attend big outdoor events, and thus more prone to dehydration and falls. Throw in the road closures and restrictions on mass transit, and the pope's visit poses unusual health care challenges.

Thirteen medical tents are being erected within the no-traffic zone for the weekend, 10 of them overseen by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania and three by the National Park Service.

More than 2,000 physicians, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and support staff will be stationed in the tents or will roam among them -- by foot, bicycle, four-wheel-drive vehicle, and Segway, said Mark Ross, the association's regional emergency preparedness manager.

Five acute-care hospitals are within the no-traffic zone and a sixth, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, is on its border. All are staffing up.

"Anybody that's within the festival fairgrounds will not be far from a medical asset," Ross said.

And for those who cannot flag down a medic, there is a new smartphone app from Jefferson University Hospital, called JeffConnect, also available to anyone outside the papal zone. Hit the button and have a video chat with an emergency-room physician, for $49.

Judd Hollander, a Jefferson professor of emergency medicine, said people who know they have an emergency should call 911 rather than use the app.

But for those who are not sure if they need 911, a video consultation can sort things out more efficiently than "telemedicine" programs offered by phone, he said.

"Not only do we get to see whether they're sick or not sick, but we also can have a better understanding of what they're trying to say," Hollander said.

At the tents, much of the care will be provided by volunteers, Ross said.

Some are coming from as far away as Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia, city Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said. In addition to staff, agencies from outside the city have volunteered to supply 76 ambulances for the papal visit as well, according to the state Department of Health.

State officials have said they have found state funds to reimburse some of the volunteers' expenses if necessary. Though the World Meeting of Families has promised to raise $45 million to cover all expenses related to the event, the state has said it does not expect to be reimbursed for the resources it is providing.

Sawyer not only has to staff the papal events with medics, but also to serve the rest of the city. In fact, 10 more units than the usual 50 will be available outside the papal zone.

"This is an all-hands event," Sawyer said. "Like any other emergency, if there was a major snow emergency or a hurricane or storm, we would have to call in additional resources."

Sawyer would not say how many medics the department has committed to the Parkway and adjacent areas, citing security concerns. Hospitals were similarly loath to disclose specifics about pope-related personnel.

Sananman, an assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at Penn Presbyterian, said the hospital had planned for up to 21/2 times the typical number of emergency-room visits and hospital admissions.

That included scheduling more staff, hundreds of whom will sleep on site, and amassing a surplus of burn kits, ventilators, stretchers, and other supplies, he said. Penn and other hospital systems have rescheduled elective surgeries in order to clear bed space.

Penn projected its needs based on an algorithm -- tweaked to reflect an older population -- developed for mass gatherings by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Sananman said. On top of all that, even more people could be called in to handle any natural or man-made catastrophe.

Said Ross of the overall medical plan: "We look at this as a really large snowstorm."

tavril@phillynews.com

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@TomAvril1

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