University Medical Center in Las Vegas is Nevada's only level 1 trauma center and the state's largest public hospital. With advanced capabilities, it is accustomed to preparing for emergencies and special circumstances, including potential visits from a U.S. president needing medical care.
"We are tasked with caring for the commander in chief, and we take great privilege and honor in doing that," Mason Van Houweling, the hospital's CEO, told Becker's. "As we prepare, we work very closely with the White House team, the Secret Service and various other agencies whenever the president or vice president is in town."
The latest example of this preparation occurred July 17, when UMC was on alert following reports about a possible medical issue with President Joe Biden. The hospital did not end up treating the president, who was in Las Vegas for an event. President Biden returned to Delaware to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19.
Fortunately, the president did not need to visit UMC and was able to return to Delaware to rest and recuperate, Mr. Van Houweling said. Still, the hospital was prepared.
"We're prepared for traumas, the worst of the worst," Mr. Van Houweling said. "But this was more of a reaching out for a medical issue. And so our team immediately went into action. We coordinated very closely with the federal and law enforcement and those around serving and protecting the White House and the president."
Through that coordination, UMC learned there was no accident or trauma situation, but there was potential that the president may need to use UMC services.
"This was more of a medical concern. And his providers on the scene that care and travel with the president were trying to rule out [whether he] needed the services of a hospital that's designated in the care for the patient," Mr. Van Houweling said.
UMC then adjusted its preparation to arrange an appropriate facility and team for medical care based on the specific potential needs identified — in this case, diagnostic requirements.
The ability to make such adjustments and be on alert are among the hospital's strengths, according to Mr. Van Houweling. He also noted that UMC has handled numerous crises, including treating victims of the October 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas.
"It's not intimidating for the staff; it's familiar. And we execute [preparation and response efforts] very well here at UMC," he said.
He described the recent situation with President Biden as a "good drill" for UMC.
"Everything really worked well, from my perspective," Mr. Van Houweling said. "There are other hospitals throughout the country that care for patients and the president. And I know they're just as prepared as we are. And that's the strength of our healthcare system here in the U.S., and the ability to designate level 1 trauma centers for the highest level of care. And we take great pride to be able to be that for the state of Nevada."
Still, he acknowledged there are always lessons learned along the way when it comes to any crisis management and disaster management.
His biggest lesson for a healthcare executive: "Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best." Mr. Van Houweling specifically recommended that hospitals test their incident command centers, when testing is scheduled and when it is not, to ensure they are prepared for a coordinated response.
"It's always good to test the system. It doesn't cost you anything, but it allows you to get visibility on where you're at and where you need to shore up," he said.
Mr. Van Houweling recommended testing not only during the day but after hours and during weekends, "because often your incident commander and your first responders are not going to be your formal leaders. They'll be your informal leaders until you get on the scene or you're able to stabilize the situation. But just make sure you drill and drill often."
Additionally, "there's always information that's foggy in situations like this or foggy during a crisis or disaster, and [your incident command center] should always be the center and the source of truth, to be able to coordinate responses," he said. "But also make sure that you trust your people to do their jobs. And you, [as the executive], kind of get out of their way sometimes to be able to let them do what they're trained to do."