Some people treated at Baystate Medical Center did not have homes to which to return.
Area hospitals set their emergency plans in motion Wednesday as soon as tornado warnings were broadcast.
At Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, the plan began before the tornado hit.
First there was a “Code D standby” declared when the tornado warning was issued. At 5:30 p.m., when the gravity of the situation became apparent, there was a Code D, Deborah Provost, vice-president for surgery and anesthesia in the emergency department, said.
With Code D, staff are not allowed to go home. “Call trees” are activated to have more people come in, especially trauma surgeons.
The staff made sure all operating rooms were up and in operation. All patients already in the emergency department who needed to be admitted were moved to patient rooms.
Baystate opened an alternate triage center at the medical building at One Medical Center Drive for the less seriously injured.
That left the Emergency Department clear for the seriously injured.
Provost said when some people with less serious storm-related injuries were ready to go home, some did not have homes to go to.
The hospital bused them to the MassMutual Center, the shelter set up for people who had nowhere to go.
By 7:30 p.m. one person had already had surgery and was doing well, she said.
By that time, the hospital had 10 trauma patients from the storm and a number of others with less serious injuries. Provost said a second wave of patients was coming in as emergency response workers were able to get to people in need.
Ann Carroll, emergency preparedness coordinator for Mercy Medical Center, said when the tornado warnings started before 4:30 p.m. preparations began. She said she saw the tornado, a funnell cloud, a lot of debris in the cloud. Staff got patients away from windows into the hallways.
Mary Orr of Mercy Medical Center said at about 8:30 p.m. the hospital had 23 patients with injuries related to the storm, with none of those life threatening.
At Mercy the emergency response is called Level 1. It meant staff and medical personnel stayed on beyond their shifts and additional staff was called in.
Orr said Mercy’s methadone clinic on Mill Street in Springfield will not be in operation Thursday because of damage to the area around it. She said clients who normally go to that site should go to Providence Behavioral Health Hospital at 1233 Main St. in Holyoke Thursday for their medication, and should enter through the back of the building.
At Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer, patients were moved away from windows and the hospital prepared for possible victims, spokeswoman Janice Kucewicz said.
By 8:30 p.m. the hospital was treating several patients from the storm, she said. It appeared their injuries were mild to moderate, she said.
That hospital had staff stay on in preparation for possible injuries, she said.