Media Advisory: State Health Department to Conduct Evacuation Drill to Demonstrate New York's New Patient Tracking System Friday, Nov 15, 10:30 a.m. to Noon

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2013) – Representatives from the New York State Department of Health (DOH), Bellevue Hospital Center, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Greater New York Hospital Association and other officials will conduct a real-time evacuation drill to demonstrate New York's new statewide Evacuation of Facilities in Disasters System (e-FINDS). The drill, which includes a group of mock "patients," will showcase how the e-FINDS technology is used in the event of an evacuation at a major health care facility.

The demonstration takes place at Bellevue Hospital on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, from 10:30am to noon. The event begins with a brief overview of the e-FINDS system; the evacuation drill immediately follows.

Designed for use in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other health care settings as well as other State agencies involved in human services, e-FINDS is a secure, confidential and easy-to-use system to provide real-time access to patient locations. Patient and resident locations can be updated and tracked using hand-held scanners, mobile apps, or paper tracking (if power and/or phones are out of service).

The drill will illustrate how the mock patients would be evacuated and then accepted at a receiving facility. The patients will have their e-FINDS wristbands applied and will be registered into the e-FINDS system using the DOH-supplied barcode scanner and a facility scanner. Additionally, a simulated power failure will occur to demonstrate the use of the paper-based system. The patients will be moved to another part of Bellevue to illustrate the e-FINDS system's role at a receiving facility. Patients' information will be updated in e-FINDS using a scanner and the mobile application.

WHO

Representatives from the New York State Department of Health, Bellevue Hospital, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Greater New York Hospital Association and other officials

WHAT

Overview and demonstration of the new statewide E-FINDS real-time patient tracking system

WHERE

Bellevue Hospital, 462 First Ave. @ 27th Street, Saul Farber Auditorium in the Atrium (First Avenue entrance)

WHEN

Friday, November 15, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. to noon