BWH is Y2K ready- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
BWH is Y2K ready- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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December 10, 1999
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In This Issue:
Real-life Santas
A legacy of caring
BWH is Y2K ready
Partners in Excellence Awards
Sharing holiday traditions
PIKE NOTES
Needle Safety Week
Manson honored by Women's Health Leadership Forum
After months of preparations and testing, hospital leaders are confident BWH will be able to handle any potential computer glitches caused by Y2K. Information Systems (IS) staff are finishing the last work needed on some of the hospital's computer applications, and the BICS system has been re-tested to reaffirm it is Y2K compliant. "We also are reviewing and putting the finishing touches on the contingency plan for the hospital," said John Glaser, interim corporate director, IS. "This plan ensures that IS staff will be on hand to check our systems in the first couple of hours of the New Year and describes steps to be taken should any problems arise." As for what staff and employees can do to help themselves with Y2K, Glaser noted that many people leave their office computers on all the time. He suggested that, just as a precaution, all computers should be shut off before leaving work for the New Year's Day weekend. Along with potential computer problems, the New Year's Eve celebration willbring a large influx of people into Boston for First Night and other festivities.Staff in the Emergency Department (ED) has been increased by 30 percentin order to handle the expected surge in patient volume. "We also will be fully stocking our supply room and are adding extra critical equipment, like mechanical ventilators," said Christopher Richards, MD, Emergency Medicine. "We have checked all our equipment and are confident of our ability to handle the situation. In the Duncan Reid Conference Room, the hospital will be activating the Disaster Command Center as the Y2K command center to track the critical functions of the hospital and to provide support for operations should issues arise." Meanwhile, all system testing and contingency planning has now been completed by Engineering Services staff, said the department's director, George Player. "We are reviewing again our staff assignments for New Year's Eve and the mechanical systems to be monitored prior to and after that evening," Player said. "We also are finalizing a list of any material or equipment that will be in stock that night. Our preparations for Y2K have been exhaustive, and we're confident we haven't overlooked anything." That exhaustive effort has been carried out in Biomedical Engineering as well, where an inventory assessment revealed that most equipment at the hospital was already Y2K compliant. For the 3 percent of the inventory that required some remediation, whether it was a software or hardware upgrade or replacement, that work will be completed by mid-December. "There are no outstanding Y2K issues that impact patient safety," said Eileen Hall, Y2K coordinator for medical equipment for BWH and Partners. "We expect that all equipment will be compliant by New Year's Eve. But, as a precaution, we will have four department members on-site during that night to assure the proper functioning of equipment and to address any unforeseen problems."Look for more information about the hospital's Y2K Contingency Plan in next week's BWH Bulletin.