COLUMBUS, Ohio -- President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients.
The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.
A federal emergency declaration for H1N1 means less red tape for Central Ohio medical facilities to cut through in order to treat the sick.
"We are in a natural disaster because a bio event, an infectious disease event like H1N1 can be considered natural," said Nancie Bechtel, executive director of the Central Ohio Trauma System.
The declaration allows the federal and state health departments to accept waivers for several federal regulations governing healthcare facilities.
The first waiver is for the emergency medical treatment and labor act, which typically prevents hospitals from sending patients to other facilities without a complete health screening.
The second waiver applies to the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which restricts what information a doctor can share about your health.
Hospitals may now set up alternate screening locations for patients away from the main campus.
Hospitals can also request to facilitate transfer of patients between emergency rooms and inpatient wards between hospitals.
Critical access hospitals may now exceed their 25 bed limit and average patient stays of less than 96 hours.
Skilled nursing facilities can also increase their bed limit.
For additional information, stay with nbc4i.com and NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail us at stories@nbc4i.com.
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement