ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Two doctors who helped treat more than a dozen carbon monoxide-poisoned kids on Tuesday are now sharing their story.
Toxicologists Dr. Chase Jones and Dr. Ken Katz were working at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) Tuesday when they were tasked with caring for victims from a “mass casualty” incident. With the help of a large team, they helped treat more than a dozen children and adults who suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning at the Happy Smiles Learning Center day care in Allentown.
- More than two dozen children and adults suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning at an Allentown day care center
- According to two LVHN doctors who treated multiple patients, the cases had unique challenges due to language barriers, age and number of patients.
- A team of 50 to 60 clinicians and others handled the patients at the hospital
LVHN spokesman Brian Downs said the health care system initially had 19 patients — 17 children and two adults.
Additionally, more than 50 other people helped treat and discharge 14 children and one adult.
Four children and one adult were transferred to Philadelphia for hyperbaric oxygen treatment, he said.
Unique challenges
Everyone who was sickened is in good condition – “fantastically” even, Jones said.
“Myself and my team saw every single kid that came into the children’s ER, and [saw] almost every single one of them leave,” Jones said. “The only ones that we didn’t physically see leave, we got great reports about their discharges from the team.”
Katz said the incident had its unique challenges. In addition to the usual hurdles of giving medical care to children, some were not native-English speakers and needed translators.
“That was another layer of the cake, so to speak,” Katz said. “To communicate with someone who needs this type of urgent care – through a translator – as calmly, objectively, and succinctly as possible, in that scenario was very difficult."
Still, both doctors said they are grateful for their team which comprised up to 60 people, including translators, nurses and registration staff.
“We had a lot of children, a lot of challenging presentations and roadblocks to their care,” Jones said. “And the staff at this hospital, specifically the nurses and transfer center workers, the in-person Spanish translators, interpreters, and our medevac and EMS staff, they were above and beyond. They applied a calm, thorough and systematic approach to take care of what could overwhelm a lot of other people, both emotionally and mentally.”
"To communicate with someone who needs this type of urgent care – through a translator – as calmly, objectively, and succinctly as possible, in that scenario was very difficult."Dr. Chase Jones, LVHN toxicologist
Jones said communicating with someone who needs this type of urgent care – through a translator – as calmly, objectively, and succinctly as possible, in that scenario was very difficult.
Katz echoed Jones’ comments.
“Now that I take a step back from yesterday, in that sort of maelstrom of activity and sort of organized chaos, if you will, it was an impressive effort all the way around,” Katz said. “I think that those that are not always recognized, you know, especially in the throes of what we’ve been through the last couple of years where it’s been very challenging in healthcare, I think that needs to be mentioned.”
Although both of the doctors agreed the story of this carbon monoxide poisoning had a relatively “happy” ending, they stopped short of fully committing to that response.
“We’ll have to see how things play out for the kids that were transferred to other centers for further treatment,” Jones said, "And we’ll have to see what the long-term effects are going to be for the families. Because, one simple way of looking at medicine is the pure physical effect it takes on your body. But I think we lose sight far too often of the terror, stress, and sometimes the financial burden associated with this.
What parents need to know
Katz said he cannot help but view incidents like this both as a doctor, and as a parent. He said he talked with his own kids when he got home Tuesday.
“I think the conversation centered around, thankfully, everyone should be okay,” Katz said. And it just … emphasized the point of being aware of your surroundings every day because things can change in a literal heartbeat.”
Both doctors say if children are indeed experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, they may not be able to express the symptoms (headache, disorientation, etc.) in the same, clear way that an adult might be able to. Therefore, prevention is more important.
“I think the number one thing is to understand that it’s present,” Katz said. “Unfortunately, carbon monoxide is odorless, it’s colorless, it’s tasteless, and yet a highly lethal poison.”
Both doctors said step one is to install a working carbon monoxide detector in homes and buildings and change the batteries regularly.
“As we roll into the wintertime, it’s more important for us to take a look at our home and make sure our carbon monoxide detectors are in place and functioning,” Jones said.
The other precautionary steps may be more subtle.
Jones said pets are more sensitive to carbon monoxide than kids, and it may be helpful to observe if they are acting in unusual ways, such as walking or bumping into walls.
Katz said some other preventive steps to consider are checking appliances that may produce carbon monoxide.
“Things that combust hydrocarbons – heater or furnace, you know, portable heaters, cars running in a garage, furnaces, anything of that nature,” Katz said. “As well as stoves, wood burning, and chimney folds that need to be cleaned out.”
Another tip from Katz is to get your chimney and fireplace examined, and make sure the “flue” is open – this can prevent a buildup of carbon monoxide as a fire burns.
Doctors said they are thankful the kids and parents survived.
“Everybody got to go home, but at the end of the day, we can't forget the impact it's going to have on those families and those kids for a long time,” Jones said.
