Sept. 5, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP)
The White House Medical Unit, the US government office responsible for the medical needs of White House staff and visitors, is preparing for all possible outcomes of this November general election. That includes a McCain presidency. The unit is poised to revamp its facilities in case the Republican ticket prevails.
“We’re a top-tier facility as one would expect considering that we are charged with monitoring and maintaining the chief executive’s health,” said Dr. William Haas, Colonel, United States Air Force. “But we have to stay one step ahead and be prepared for every contingency.”
Staying one step ahead includes a modernized crash cart equipped to handle such conditions as stroke and cardiac arrest. Across from the elevator whisking the president between his living quarters and the oval office, a new room is being prepped for a cutting-edge, multi-million dollar CT-MRI-PET scanner.
“It’s the top of the line and will not only help us diagnose disease before it becomes a problem but will assist in real-time emergency procedures such as endovascular treatment of stroke and coronary blockage. Such treatment needs to be conducted within the golden hour,” Haas explained.
The golden hour is a term in emergency medicine used to describe the short window physicians have to treat neurological events such as stroke before severe or permanent brain damage occurs. For cardiac events, there is more time to stabilize patients such as the president, though it is more likely the doctors and medical technicians of the medical unit will move the patient quickly to Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
“There has been some talk of installing a high-speed patient conveyance system using a mag-lev track that runs between the unit operating room and the Marine One medivac landing zone on the South Lawn, but we’re still waiting to see what happens in November and if there will be any room in the budget for that,” said Haas.
Dr. Haas also added that several other improvements to the facilities are being considered including a special broadband link between the unit and other essential offices in case it became necessary to exercise the 25th Amendment. Also under consideration are coded locks on the pharmaceutical cabinets, especially for cabinets storing powerful pain medications.
“Again, we are trying to think of every possible scenario,” he said. “I’m confident we can become practically a world-class trauma and rehabilitation center within three months if we are called to be that.”
Associative Press