WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield Thursday said his agency is working with the Department of Health to support county emergency management agencies by providing needed personal protective equipment (PPEs) and, where needed, to set up alternative care sites to handle patient overflows.
“We are continuously evaluating the needs out there,” Padfield said during a teleconference with statewide media. “We want to be able to decompress the hospitals to allow for COVID-19 care.”
Padfield said PEMA is looking at various sites to determine if they could serve as temporary care facilities during pandemic.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported that there are 1,211 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 7,016 in 62 counties.
The department also reported 16 new deaths among positive cases, bringing the statewide total to 90.
Padfield declined to name specific areas where the alternative care facilities would be established.
Padfield said Luzerne County is an area where additional PPEs are needed.
“Each request is looked at and taken to the health department and then strategic allocations are made,” Padfield said. “We want to push those allocations to counties where they are most needed.”
Padfield would not comment on specific requests from any county. He did say that the current crisis will make PEMA more better poised in the fall to respond to something like this.
When asked if PEMA would be able to handle other weather-related emergencies, he aid the agency is “always at the ready.”
Padfield said the COVID-19 pandemic is the agency’s priority at the moment, maintaining 24-hour monitoring of the landscape across the state.
“We have the capability to handle it,” Padfield said. “This has had a great impact on our health care system in every area. The goal is to limit the spread of the virus.”
Padfield called the pandemic “a dynamic situation.”
“We are definitely in uncharted waters,” he said. “The data changes daily. Our biggest challenge has been trying to determine what the future looks like. Our crystal ball is very cloudy.”
Padfield PEMA and the Department of Health are responding to data that comes in daily, even hourly.
“The challenge is taking a look at what we have in front of us,” Padfield said. “A decision we made the day before, may not be the decision we make today.”
Padfield added that in emergency management, he and his staff have learned to deal with these types of situations.
“We follow our plan and adjust,” he said.
As far as having enough supplies, Padfield said he looks at the “burn rates” —relying on the health department’s statistics.
“We are always looking for supplies, like masks and ventilators,” Padfield said.
Padfield said since the beginning of February, PEMA has been working with the Department of Health to prepare for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. He said the agency’s role is to support county emergency management agencies, using state and federal resources that are available to us
“Nearly two dozen state and federal partners, as well as private sector partners, have been working either virtually or here with us in the Commonwealth Response Coordination Center since our activation began in early March,” Padfield said.”The response to every incident, whether a flood or pandemic, begins with the local government.”
Padfield explained that when the scope of the incident exceeds the municipality’s ability to respond, they request whatever resource they need from the county. He said every county in the commonwealth has their own procurement process — once they are unable to meet those needs, the resource request goes to PEMA.
