A year after the blizzard, what changes have Western New York’s hospitals made to prepare for the next big storm?

Many hospital staff members were stuck at work for days once mandates came down for them to remain on-site. They slept when and where they could.

Bringing in staff reinforcements was nearly impossible; the agencies with vehicles capable of traversing the weather conditions were busy trying to save lives during the storm. Some residents, freezing and in search of shelter, descended upon hospitals for survival.

By the end of the blizzard, many hospitals were scraping by on food, with some reliant on community donations from grocers and restaurants. Clean linens were hard to come by.

“It was difficult, to say the least,” said Emilee Matthews, an emergency room nurse at Erie County Medical Center who was there for roughly 96 hours during the blizzard. Her first night at work during the storm, she slept on a table.

Hospital and union leaders acknowledge some procedures worked and some didn’t during last year’s blizzard. A post-blizzard report from the Erie County Department of Health noted hospitals and health care centers “should review and revise their emergency plans and how they interact with staffing, supplies and shelter for patients, staff and families.”

The region’s hospitals said they have done that and are better prepared to weather the next generational storm or major emergency that hits Western New York.

For instance, Kaleida Health stocked up food, linens and sleeping equipment. Both Kaleida and Catholic Health System formed employee response teams, with Catholic Health reaching out to hospitals in Florida to gather intel about how they prepare for impending hurricanes.

ECMC, meanwhile, bolstered its food distribution processes so it’s better prepared should another blizzard arrive that forces area residents to seek shelter at the hospital.