Stanford Hospital Receives 45, SF General 52 Plane Crash Victims

Written by Bay City News

Stanford Medical Center received around 45 patients today from the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, including around three in critical condition and ten in serious condition, hospital officials said Saturday.

The hospital had admitted 16 of those patients as of around 7:30 p.m., with others still undergoing evaluation, according to Dr. Eric Weiss, director of emergency medicine.

The majority of patients came by ambulance, although some were flown in by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, said Dr. David Spain, director of the hospital's trauma center.

Injuries on those brought to Stanford varied widely but included internal bleeding, numerous fractures, several spinal fractures and blunt force injuries, Spain said.

Stanford is one of nine Bay Area hospitals to receive patients from the crash, which killed two people and injured 182 others.

Weiss said that the hospital activated its emergency management plan immediately after being notified of the crash and within 30 minutes was able to mobilize more than 150 health care staff including doctors, nurses and other support staff. In particular, the hospital activated seven trauma teams that included skilled surgeons, Weiss said.

Spain noted that while the hospital handled the influx of patients from the crash, patients from other incidents were still being admitted and helped as needed.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco General Hospital had received 52 patients from the Asiana Airlines crash as of this evening, a hospital spokeswoman said.

SF Genernal received four waves of patients from the crash, including an initial wave of 10 critical patients, hospital spokeswoman Rachel Kagan said. Of those initial 10, two were children. Kagan said five of those patients have since been upgraded to serious condition.

Later waves of patients included a wider mix of conditions, including some with minor injuries who were treated and released without hospitalization, Kagan said. Kagan noted that the hospital had converted a pediatric urgent care center to help deal with the influx of patients. The hospital also set up tents outside and brought in additional staff today.

While the initial group of patients was primarily made up of Korean speakers, Kagan said the hospital had sufficient translators and Korean-speaking staff on duty to handle the needs of patients.

San Francisco fire officials said Friday afternoon that 181 people on board the flight had been transported to local hospitals and 123 confirmed uninjured. Two people have been confirmed dead and one person remained unaccounted, fire officials said.

Earlier Friday, a spokeswoman for Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco said that Saint Francis had received seven patients from the crash and St. Mary's five. A call for updated numbers has not been returned yet Friday evening.