VA Hospital readies to aid victims of war

The mood at the Veterans Administration Hospital, like that at many workplaces around the city yesterday, was slightly different than usual. Employees wore yellow ribbons on their identification tags, and in many offices, eyes and ears were glued to radios and televisions all day. But for employees of the hospital, the announcement of the attack on Iraqi meant even more. The hospital, which is located at 38th Street just south of Baltimore Avenue, is one of 22 facilities throughout the country which the military has designated as a center for receiving victims of combat injuries, including injuries from chemical weapons. VA Hospital Public Affairs Officer Don Gee said yesterday that many departments in the 412-bed hospital are prepared to implement round-the-clock operation to handle injuries from the gulf war. Many of the hospital's clinical departments do not normally operate 24 hours per day. Gee added that no additional staff has been hired to deal with the situation in the gulf. Instead, staffing holes will be filled with staggered shifts. The staff has been training for all types of injuries including chemical warfare injuries since early last fall. Many people have attended seminars about treating these special wounds. The hospital library has also collected resources on various types of combat injuries. Linda Nelson, a clinical pharmacist, said the staff is used to dealing with the aging population of veterans of Vietnam, Korea, and World War Two who have familiar disablities. These veterans are also much older than the soldiers who will arrive with injuries from the Middle East. "These are youngsters relative to the people you see in the waiting room," Nelson said yesterday. She said the staff has been advised how to deal with the possible horrific injuries resulting from chemical weapons. "You can't get fixed on the chemical," Nelson said. "It's not the chemical that is horrible. It's the war, in fact, that is horrible. We try to help our staff realize that it is the war that is the problem." Nelson said that they may begin receiving injured soldiers anywhere from three days to several weeks from now. The injured must go through several field hospitals, ship hospitals, and a facility in Europe before being transferred to the United States. Staff members are also carefully watching the news for word on several of their colleagues who were called into service in the fall. University medical students who rotate through local hospitals as part of their normal clinical work may get a first-hand look at how these special preparations at the VA Hospital work, according to Lynn Seng, the director of curriculum counseling for the Medical School. She said yesterday she is not aware if the students have seen any of the hospital's preparations, but she said they may see casualties. Both Gee and Nelson said patriotism is running "high" at the hospital, and even those who did not support the decision to go to war will fully support the troops. "We must separate the warrior from the war," Gee said.

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