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Hospital workers manage during East Coast storm
HALIFAX - The worst blizzard on the East Coast record books-a weather bomb, according to Environment Canada-exploded in the early hours of Feb. 19, leaving two provinces in a state of emergency and hospitals throughout the region scrambling to find ways to get doctors to work and discharged patients home.
Within 24 hours, 95 cm of snow descended on Nova Scotia and 69 cm on P.E.I. Highways were impassable and visibility was virtually nil. For the first time in its history, Nova Scotia declared a state of emergency so workers could clear highways and city streets. P.E.I soon followed suit.
But emergency departments in both provinces, as well as neighbouring New Brunswick, which also got buffeted by storm winds of 90 km/hour, remained open around the clock to anyone who could get through.
In Nova Scotia, paramedic response protocols were revamped to ensure the safety of workers and patients. One such measure: Emergency Health Services' online medical control physicians were contacting patients at home on a priority basis and providing medical support over the telephone until paramedics...