Planning and preparation are keys to Y2K confidence

More than a year of planning and preparation should pay off in a smooth transition to the year 2000 at Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Center .

Over the past year the medical centers have checked out thousands of medical devices, facilities, computers and software to ensure compliance with Year 2000 (Y2K) requirements. As a result, hundreds of medical devices with known problems have been upgraded or replaced. Many older computers and programs were replaced as well.

Brad Cummings, Year 2000 program manager with Medical Centers Information Systems, said that any equipment that could not be reliably upgraded will be taken out of service.

Testing of emergency power systems has been part of the preparation at both medical centers. “It was comforting to all of us to know how well hospital systems respond,” Cummings said. Both medical centers have also coordinated emergency-response efforts with regional agencies.

Some extra supplies will be on hand at the medical centers. In addition, staff, who are all considered essential employees, have been briefed on preparations to make at home in case of power disruption or weather emergencies.

“We have been asked by the state to prepare for a worst-case scenario,” Cummings said. “But I’m really expecting no major problems on Jan. 1. We are well prepared.”

In other areas of the Health Sciences Center, a group with representatives from all the health sciences schools and interdisciplinary centers has been meeting periodically since last summer to identify potential problems. Much of their attention has been focused on laboratories.

Stephanie Steppe, director of health sciences academic facilities and services, chairs this Health Sciences Y2K Task Force. A series of planned power shut-downs, one wing at a time, has identified available emergency power sources, she said. In addition, the group has formed a “phone tree” to contact facilities coordinators in each area if necessary.

Laboratories have also been working with the campuswide Environmental Health and Safety unit to prepare. ¶