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Show Birnnniim .. - - mir j y saMjiaa-ByyTti- .Mjifrm It nil rtfnnirii i - rii in nBnrtinrr r nr -t- imiriiii iIittt j The Daily Herald am 'miHii rtfiiiiriiafnt. V jiiiVui i tu-i- Thursday, January 25, 1996 Ants and the blizzard of 1996 Where were you during the blizzard (or should we say "blizzards"?) of 1996? Here in Utah County, we were enjoying an unusually balmy January when the eastern United States was blasted by several feet of the cold, wet stuff. 'Too bad," we thought as we watched news footage of cars sliding off roads and commuters cross country skiing through downtown Manhattan. 'Where's the bean dip?" ' Then last week Mother Nature blasted us. We got snow. We got ; " P " y1 0 fev Joseph Walker , 90v fcffn o t rr . - f sr.. f&r" si t ySs xf f ('J I ! i fS Iff ;;!4i bg JiZ r ! ' " . I 15 V I . ' a t -- JIT f : -- 12, N r fvj lp 'i' W$ if Value Speak wind. We got sore backs from shoveling three or four times a day. We got cocky weathercasters. ; "Yep, that was some blizzard but there," they all said, a veritable Greek chorus of meteorology. "We said it would snow! We are great and powerful weather wizards!" Of course, we knew it would snow eventually. It was just a matter of when and how much, and whether or not it would come at a time when we happened to have ibod in the house so we didn't have ito slide down to the store to get "something for dinner. For those who live in areas that don't get snow, there's other stuff lurking in the "not if but when" cathurricanes, tornadoes, egory earthquakes, income taxes. The question for all of us isn't whether we will experience the challenges imposed upon us by calamity. The question is: will be prepared for those challenges jwe when they occur? For many of us, the concept of , preparedness hasn't entered our ;minds much since we first heard the story of the ant and the grasshopper. ;You remember that one, don't you? The grasshopper prefers to sing and dance and play away the sum-mwhile the ant works hard to store the food he will need to last through the winter. Of course, the grasshopper has a lot more fun than until the snow falls and the ant he finds himself out in the cold, hungry and homeless. A lot of us can relate to the grasshopper since we're inclined to live life for today without giving much thought to preparing for tomorrow. And we probably know a few people who, like that ant, seem to be so busy preparing for tomorrow that they never really have time 'to enjoy today. ! But isn't there a happy medium somewhere, an approach to preparedness that stops short of boarding up the windows and trying to completely shut out the world and its natural and unnatural vicissitudes? i I think there is. We can prepare for any eventuality just as we preone pare for anything else in life step at a time. First, we can make sure everyone in the household knows what to do in the immediate 'aftermath of disaster, i Escape plans should be practiced regularly, along with recitations of Iwhere to go, what to turn off, how to get help and how to handle criti-cfirst aid problems, Then we can make sure we j always have on hand enough food, fuel, clothing and money to see us 'through for a few snow-boun- d days 'r and store it in a way that we can ; !pick it up and take it with us quick-j- y and easily if we're forced to ;evacuate for any reason. Then we ;can expand our supplies to include provisions for a couple of weeks. (Then a couple of months. Then who knows? maybe even six .months or a year, j And then we can forget about it 'Aside from an occasional update and rotation of food, clothes and batteries, you don't need to worry so much about snowstorms, earthquakes, ifloods or fires (or, for that matter, the ups and downs of the economy) .because you're prepared. Like a wise ;man once said, "If you're prepared, ;you don't need to fear." Even if you're not, by nature, an ; i ' ,ir v' 1 O 'I I f Af,.A f; ; if' nt I t), ' vi i - . . : -- f if-- - it ' V ti , 1 1 . ti Mimur in rrtminrturf 'immmt i mmm twm irmrarii n iiimmiim u r; iiinnr irir- -r r r utrn iiii uim i hiim miiiii miinin ! Daily Herald nurses Susan Christensen, left, and Mar- garet Morrill, center, talk with a patient in the UVRMC triage area of the emergency room. Every patient who comes to the hospital's emergency room is i mil photosJason Olson if his assessed by a triage nurse to determine problem is urgent or non-urgen- t. nat-jur- al el al . ant Joseph Walker is a nationally-syndicate- d columnist who lives in American Fork. . Some answers to the question about visiting the ER By JANET HART Daily Herald Lifestyle Editor you'll always be seen and cared for and people like that" added the reg- symptom people may question. Watson said a person can evaluate the laceration based on bleeding, It can be a frightening situation -- istered nurse. What people don't like is the movement and numbness. If the Saturhome on a at wintery you're which on average is about one bleeding cannot be controlled, the day evening and family member wait hour but can grow up to three hours movement is decreased and numbstarts developing physical sympextremely busy times. So ness exists, then the victim needs to during toms that you as a spouse or parent what can people use to gauge how be seen. don't know how to handle. For many fractures, the most Whether that symptom is a fever, far up the emergent scale they may be? urgent problem is pain, said Hooka wheezy cough, an ear ache or a er. If a person is experiencing a lot Watson and Both Hooker agree sprained ankle, a million questions start whizzing through your mind. certain cases should come directly of pain, the emergency room can Can it wait until morning? Will the to the emergency room. Chest provide medication for relieve it and pains, heart problems, difficulty ways to stablize the injury. Other get problem treatment worse? Is there that beyond the in anything may have to medicine cabinet wait until the that will work? next day, Do we need to unless circumemerthe to go stances require gency room? more immedilast That ate action. question, "A guy whether or not to in came emerthe to go 1 at or recently gency room, can 2 a.m. and had be a tough one in slugged somethese days of He thing. confusing health an needed nfcs care costs. But I but operation, the professionals An ambulance crew takes a patient Into UVRMC's emergency room him pain gave in charge of the after transporting him from Ephriam. Some medical situations, like medication ER at Utah Valthese, are clearly appropriate for the ER, but others are not. and said come ley Regional tomorback Medical Center want people to know they're in place to help - even breathing, a child who is vomiting row," Hooker explained. Another service for individuals constantly or turning blue, head or if its to help answer that all imporoverdoses, trauma, poison weighing the possibility of coming spinal tant to go or not to go question. and to the emergency room or not is the hypothermia possible ingestion, "We like to have people come who need our services which are for uncontrollable bleeding would all IHC Healthline (include number), fit into that category. formerly known as emergencies," said Wayne Watson, said. The nurses who man their Watson in for "When come people aclministrative director for the emerservice work from a the ends it when and not heart telephone being up gency center. "So, the nationally-recognize- d We set embarrassed. don't of that computerized, they're wait while for we care things may and can help be. We're them to want protocols happy the emergent things. But the definidetermine visit the emerthem to when a and OK we want don't they're tion of emergent changes for differsaid Watson. more is room hesitate to in," appropriate gency coming ent people." Other physical symptoms may than home care. Or put a little simplier, "The Coming into the emergency closer you are to dying, the faster fall into a greyer area when decidthe and talking with the triage for room not to head whether or you get in," said Dr. Keith Hooker, ing in is another option, Watson nurse Fevers, hospital. especially medical director for the hospital's those one be said. A can of children, triage nurse assesses each young emergency center. "And that's a person who comes into the emersymptoms. hard thing for such a huge area," Hooker, who has been practicing gency room and may be able to proWatson said the hospital is seethe emergency room for more vide information on other possible in cases and more ing less 10 years, said a fever is a sign options if the problem is not classithan in its emergency emergent cases room and credits that trend to that something else is going on with fied as emergent "We've got a lot of information. increased public education as well a patient Fluids and Tylenol are home for remedies But we are taking a risk because effective fevers, after-houas an increase in more and liable if you don't go through if not we're but they're working clinics by primary care physicians. else to go, a visit to an exam and the doctor doesn't see nowhere there's decided the ER if However, the emergency room is appropriate. you and something happens," Wattoday to create a policy of only takand fever "If a son said. "If you come in and you're running they're ing emergent cases, there would be in. But at least assessed and the injury is one that come not sleeping, certain number of people in the a have some data for us to work with. will wait it may be best to go somecommunity who could not get their where else. Orem Community Hoshealth care needs met said Watson. You need to take their temperature," said. Hooker pital is a good emergency room for "We still don't have enough to lacerations and Cuts another are things that are not critical, especial meet the community's needs. Here, cH o Ask-A-Nur- non-urge- non-urge- nt ly if you live in the area." Watson said no one should be told not to come to the emergency room. And while money is a consideration for many people, it shouldn't be the reason for not coming to the ER when its needed. "We can't be financial counselors; there are too many (insurance) plans. We'll see anyone who come in and then someone else pays the bill," Watson said, adding most insurance plans include some sort of stipulation that only emergencies qualify for the ER and anything else means a higher cost Emergency room bills are high because the facility is outfitted 24 hours a day with personnel and equipment to handle the worse possible situation, Watson said. But while a local ER bill may be high compared to a local doctor's office or clinic, it isn't high compared to other emergency rooms across the country. Questions to ask yourself before seeing a doctor Many health care and insurance agencies have some sort of home care manual. Here are some questions from Intermountain Health Care's Guide to ask yourself when medical attention is necHealthyLife Self-Care essary. If you answer yes to any of the questions, seeing a doctor is advised, unless otherwise indicated. If you answer no, continue through the quese is the rections until you can answer yes or until the end when ommended treatment. Common Cold Are any of these problems present with the cold chest pain that . doesn't go away, quick breathing or trouble breathing, wheezing, feel- - , ing weak or with no energy, delirium? Do you have any of these problems with the cold a bad earache, bright red sore throat or sore throat with white spots, swoilen and painful neck glands, coughing for more than 10 days, fever or a bad smell from throat, nose or ears? Do you have pain or swelling over your sinuses that gets worse when you bend over or move your head? Coughs Do you have these problems trouble breathing or unable to speak more than words between breaths, chest pain, fainting or coughing up blood? (Seek emergency care.) Is the person who has the cough a baby or small child? If so, does he have these problems the cough sounds like a seal's bark, a fever of 102 to 103? Did the cough start suddenly and last an hour or more without stopself-car- 4-- 5 ; ping? Do wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing or swelling of the abdomen, legs and ankles accompany the cough? Is the person with the cough is an adult, is there a fever of 1 02 or higher? Do you have tny of these problems also weight loss for no reason, feeling tired or a lot of sweating at night? Does you chest hurt only when you cough and does the pain go away when you sit up or lean forward? Do you cough up something thick and green, yellow or with or without an cdor? Has the cough lasted more than 2 weeks without getting better? nt Sprains rs .. & Strains Did the strain or sprain occur with great force from a vehicle accident or fall from a high place? (Seek emergency care.) Do you have any of thes8 signs a bone sticking out or bones in the injured part make a grating sound, injured body part looks crooked or the wrong snaps, joss of feoiing in the injured body part, cant move or put weight on injured part? (Seek emergency care ) Does the skin arourid the injury turn blue endor feel cold and ntmb? Do you have any ot tliese signs bad pain and swelling or the pain is getting worse, hurts to press long the bone? l |
