Published Monday, July 24, 2000

L.A. preparing for terrorist attacks

Downtown hospitals have received special equipment and training in case trouble is attracted by August's Democratic convention By Troy Anderson LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

LOS ANGELES -- Concerned about a possible biological or chemical terrorist attack during the Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles hospitals have stocked up on antidotes and undergone decontamination training.

At the request of the U.S. Secret Service and other government officials, about a dozen hospitals downtown have also received special equipment to protect doctors and nurses and treat patients.

"The thing we are most concerned about is terrorism, and particularly bio-terrorism," said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Healthcare Association of Southern California, which represents hospitals countywide. "We will be on super-alert mode for the convention.

"We're not all equipped to handle biochemical terrorist threats. But that doesn't mean it can't be handled."

FBI, Secret Service and police stress that preparations for any eventuality are necessary for a high-profile political event involving the president, vice president and thousands of party activists.

"We are looking at what occurred in Seattle and indications that some of those folks are planning on coming and exercising their First Amendment rights in Los Angeles," said Lt. Dennis Beene of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Emergency Operations Bureau. "There isn't anything we're seeing that we're concerned about."

Still, officials acknowledge there is always a potential for terrorism. U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Frank O'Donnell said agents have met with hospitals to ensure that "in the event of an emergency, all the advance work has been done."

"In addition to that, both the president and vice president travel with military doctors. All over town, depending on where the president or vice president will be, we reach out to all the hospitals they will be close to."

At California Hospital Medical Center, the closest hospital to Staples Center, where the convention will be held Aug. 14-17, doctors and nurses have been told they could be the first choice for treatment in the event of a terrorist attack.

"We have purchased a lot of equipment, specialized masks and gowns," said Dr. Robert Splawn, medical director of the hospital. "And the No. 1 thing we need to do is secure the hospital because if we're down, we won't be able to take care of anyone."

Protest organizers said the preparations are part of the "hype and hysteria" concerning demonstrators.

"The idea that protesters have any plans to be involved in any terrorist activity is just outrageous and really discourages people from exercising their First Amendment rights," said D2K protest spokeswoman Margaret Prescod. She added that law enforcement figures predicting 50,000 protesters at the convention are exaggerated.

Epidemiologists from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have arrived in Los Angeles to help hospitals track any disease outbreaks during the convention with a special computer program that will analyze the symptoms people report to emergency room workers.

"This is for special events like the Olympics and political conventions," CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said. "We have CDC people assigned to the Los Angeles area who will help local officials detect early if there is an outbreak. Our software can determine quickly if the illness is above normal levels."

Last week, the county's Emergency Management Council Steering Committee met and approved the DNC emergency management plan.

The plan calls for a coordinated effort among city and county governments, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Los Angeles Police Department and the county Sheriff's and Fire departments.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Secret Service and FBI are the lead federal agencies, staffing communications and operations centers in the Los Angeles area during the convention.

The plan notes that the convention could become a target of terrorist acts ranging from individual acts of violence to the use of weapons of mass destruction. It calls for government officials to monitor water systems and to work with power utilities to ensure government is not blacked out.

The report notes that terrorists could be "disguised" as protesters.

The county has been preparing for a potential terrorist attack for more than three years, said Constance Perett, director of the county Office of Emergency Management.

Hospital workers have been issued special suits to wear and have undergone decontamination training, said Virginia Hastings, director of the county Emergency Medical Services Agency.

County supervisors voted in August 1998 to accept a $250,000 federal grant that allowed the county to prepare for nuclear, biological or chemical terrorist attacks.

"Los Angeles County is probably one of the most, if not most, prepared counties in the United States," Perett said. "But there is still work to be done."

Perett said the county's preparation for Y2K put it in a mode of readiness.

"One of the interesting things about Y2K is it reached deeper into the psyche of the government and private sector than any other single event ever has," she said.

Darlene Isbell, assistant director of the county Emergency Medical Services Agency, said officials are making sure the hospitals are well-staffed and have plenty of supplies and that roads are open for ambulance drivers.

"As with any disaster, like Y2K, when you have a known event in front of you, you have a better opportunity to plan than if you have an earthquake when you least expect it."

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/california/stories/xbioterror_20000724.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 24, 2000

Answers

It will be interesting to see if these radicals will try to match the mayhem and upset they created in Seattle last year.

-- LillyLP (lilly LP@aol.com), July 25, 2000.