In response to the Sept. 23 meeting "Aging YOUR Way" sponsored by the Washington State non-profit, Senior Services, held at Fauntleroy Church, host Jim Diers, former Dept. of Neighborhoods director returned, this time to the Delridge Community Center Dec. 9 with Senior Services Vice President Joanne Donohoe to host "Hospital Without Walls".

"Aging YOUR Way" was a series of 10 meetings held in the Seattle area for Baby Boomers, including community leaders, to ask how they want to be supported as they age so that their local communities can make changes. The theme centered on the following question, “What would a senior-friendly Southwest Community look like?”

The "Hospital Without Walls" meeting discussed community concerns addressed in the Sept. 23 meeting, particularly those dealing with emergency medical care access to West Seattle residents in a disaster like an earthquake. Diers and Donohoe suggested a scenario where both the West Seattle and 1st Ave. Bridges are blocked or destroyed. There is currently no hospital, or 24/7 emergency medical clinic in West Seattle.

What do we do now? How do we get to a hospital? What are some possible alternatives to thousands heading for the emergency entrance at Highline Medical Center in Burien, the closest hospital to West Seattle without crossing a bridge?

The West Seattle Community Hospital, now Navos Mental Health Solutions, 2600 SW Holden St., closed its doors in the late 1990's. Swedish Physicians West Seattle, 3400 California Ave., and High Point Medical & Dental Clinic, 6020 35th Ave. SW, keep regular business hours.

However, Highline Medical Group's West Seattle Walk-In Clinic, 4744 41st Ave. SW, plans to extend its hours in 2011, and may consider offering 24/7 emergency service.

"Being a hospital, your business is emergency preparedness," said Highline Medical Center CEO Mark Benedum, reached by the West Seattle Herald after the meeting. "We look at this all the time. We participate with the County. Being close to Sea-Tac Airport where there is the potential of a major disaster at any time we're constantly drilling and preparing. You need to make sure to have emergency supplies and power.

"We've had a clinic for 15 years at the Alaska Junction," he said. "We've been involved with community surveys and have done studies. We're planning to reopen urgent care there by mid-2011. We will start with extended hours, seven days a week, and then will consider adding 24-hour (service) if the demand is there. Certainly we will be developing the facilities that, in the event of an emergency, would clearly be closer to the center of West Seattle."

During the meeting brainstormers suggested creative alternatives for health care during a catastrophe.

Someone pointed out that a mobile medical unit belonging to Swedish Hospital is parked in its Ballard hospital lot, and that West Seattle should look into acquiring such units. Another said that such a unit, or permanent trailer, could be parked at the Alki Point Lighthouse, and that there might be a legal obligation or tenet for the Lighthouse to provide civic assistance.

Representatives of the Kenney and Providence Mount St. Vincent agreed to contact other senior care facilities in West Seattle to share information about their emergency preparedness systems. These facilities have medical care on staff, emergency generators and other supplies that they felt could serve as a useful model outside their industry.

There was a suggestion to appoint a Coast Guard rescue ship to land at West Seattle to directly aid, or transport the injured across Elliott Bay. Sounded reasonable, but a few murmured that the Water Taxi dock is too small to handle such a ship.

Also weighing in were Deborah Greer and Karen Berge of "West Seattle Be Prepared". They spoke of developing disaster plans at a local, community level by bringing neighbors and their resources together.

Their website maps out their nine "Emergency Communication Hubs" where, in a crisis resources will be available. They include the Alki Community Center, Hiawatha Playfield, Ercolini Park at the Alaska Junction, Providence Mount St. Vincent's southeast lot, Pigeon Point at Southwest Andover and 20th St., Morgan Junction Thriftway parking lot, Hughes Playground, Fauntleroy Church parking lot, and the Salvation Army parking lot on 16th Ave. SW. They are speaking with Seattle Parks and other departments about storing some medical supplies in trailers outside in case buildings collapse.

Diers is a Vashon Islander where the Nov. 22 ice storm hit hard. While a bridgeless West Seattle would operate somewhat as an island, Vashon has even fewer options, but may offer some survival tips to our peninsula.

Diers pointed out that at Vashon Pharmacy had no generator forcing two pharmacists to fill prescriptions by hand using headlamps. With power out there were no working computers to identify bar codes and refill locations. Everything was done by hand.

The West Seattle Herald contacted some local pharmacies about being prepared for power outages. The Bartell Drugs at Admiral and Jefferson Square lack power generators, according to their managers. A spokesman for Walgreens Corporation in Deerfield, Illinois said their stores have no generators but do have a plan in place to bring generators into some stores during a power outage.

Despite adversity in the Vashon community during the ice storm, some believe the Island's emergency response system would both play out successfully in an earthquake scenario, and be a model other communities should follow. Like West Seattle, the Island also has an active "VashonBePrepared" organization.

"About eight years ago Joe Ulatoski, a retired brigadier general, mobilized a bunch of folks, myself included, and began the 'Vashon Disaster Preparedness Coalition'," said Michael Cochrane, also a former military man, who, with his wife Catherine, manage the Vashon Fire and Rescue community emergency response team, or CERT, a Federal program. CERT is not in every community, but seems to be a better fit in unincorporated areas where volunteerism is most needed.

"The Vashon Disaster Preparedness Coalition organized Red Cross people, (Department of) Roads people, Power Company employees, and established a volunteer Emergency Operating Center (EOC) to assist our fire department by leveraging the volunteer force to allow fire fighters to do more responses," Cochrane said. Ulatoski ran the EOC after the ice storm struck.

"In CERT training we learn to deliver services in the field to people in need, to do triage, make a head to toe assessment of someone potentially injured," said Cochrane. "In an earthquake, each of Vashon Island's five fire stations will have two CERT members, two ham radio operators, aside from normal fire equipment, and a 60-gallon drum filled CERT cache, emergency supplies.

"Our Medical Reserve Corps of Island doctors, nurses and technicians have a standing response, and can turn our training center into an emergency medical receiving point."

Vashon would depend on the King County Ferry service to transport injured people to the Seattle shore. But ferries might also be transporting injured people in West Seattle and up and down the Sound to hospitals, and that is if the ferries and terminals are not damaged, Cochrane pointed out.

"We've explored the idea of utilizing a barge with a tug boat," said Cochrane regarding evacuation of the injured. "Without a ferry, boat owners at the local yacht club may be mobilized."