Mock disaster prepares medical community
Emergency response personnel from Utah State University and Cache Valley met for the annual mock disaster at the University Inn on Tuesday.
About 85 volunteers, half of whom were USU students, posed as victims when a simulated construction crane fell on the University Inn.
Emergency response organizations, including hospitals, fire and police departments, emergency medical technicians, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, transportation crews and Campus Emergency Response Teams [CERT] were tested on their capabilities of treating massive casualties at one time.
USU Police Sgt. Lynn Wright, emergency management coordinator, said, “Many hospitals are required to take part in a mock disaster every year for accreditation. It also helps to review the process. Many paramedics respond daily to calls but don’t get the opportunity to have a sudden flood of victims to care for.”
Jon Keller, assistant Cache County fire chief, said, “This is the only way to learn, and practice is always good.”
Wright said the mock disaster was designed to bring many agencies together so, if a real disaster occurs, everyone will be involved and prepared.
Wright headed the disaster. Randy Todd of the Cache County American Red Cross directed the 25 different organizations involved.
The event began at 7 a.m. Volunteers were dressed as accident victims, made to look as realistic as possible. Many were told they had serious injuries, such as burns, broken limbs, cuts and bruises. Some victims were told to act like they did not know where they were and others received no injuries. Participants were placed in various rooms located throughout the five levels of the building.
Kelly Palmer, an employee at the University Inn, said, “They told me I got hit in the head and couldn’t feel my arms or legs.”
Palmer was later diagnosed paralyzed from the neck down and sent to the hospital.
Desiree Bess, a sophomore majoring in public relations and an uninjured victim, said, “If this was a real situation, I’m sure more people would have panicked and asked more questions, but I thought they did really good. It was helpful even for us to know what to do.”
The construction crane hit the top of the building at 9 a.m., cutting the electricity. A call was made to USU dispatch informing them of multiple injuries. Logan City Central Command was then contacted, along with the fire department and local hospitals. Medical response officials handled all calls going in and out at an instant command center located in the Senate Chambers on the third level of the Taggart Student Center.
Sid Carpenter, Emergency Medical Services assistant chief for the Logan City Fire Department, said the hardest part about the mock disaster is getting all the pieces to fall together at the right time and the right place.
Scott Eli Douglass, emergency management coordinator for Logan City, said, “A lot of it is really about communication. All the requests have to be funneled through here. Everything has to be tracked. This is where you control all your resources.”
CERT was the first on the scene. Each team was assigned a level in the building to find and assist the victims. Wood pallets, pillows, roll-away beds and other debris were scattered throughout the hallways. CERT followed the triage system to treat the victims, who were organized into different groups according to the severity of their injuries.
Wright said, “[CERT] does a patient assessment and makes an evaluation on who needs to be treated first and who can wait.”
Black, red, yellow or green ribbons were tied around the victims’ arms, indicating the severity of their injuries. Black ribbons meant they were dead or dying. Red meant they needed immediate medical attention. Yellow meant they needed medical attention and green meant they had minor injuries.
From the inn, the seriously injured victims were escorted to the TSC Sunburst Lounge, where local emergency rescue officials assessed and treated the victims’ injuries.
They were then transported in five different ambulances to the Cache Valley Specialty Hospital or the Logan Regional Hospital.
Uninjured victims were escorted to the American Red Cross shelter at the University First Stake Center, for food, drinks and first aid treatment.
The Civil Air Patrol flew above the accident scene to take aerial pictures and get a better idea about what was going on.
The challenge during the event was to avoid any real injuries and handle other, real emergency calls. The Logan Regional Hospital received 18 real patients in its emergency room during the mock disaster.
A debriefing was held afterward to assess where there was room for improvement. Wright said communication, documentation and victim tracking need improvement.
A smaller-scale mock disaster was held last year.
-mmackay@cc.usu.edu
Travis Robson and Felicia McCombs, North Logan firefighters/EMTs, check the condition of a victim from the mock disaster at the University Inn on Tuesday. (Photo by Amy Fuller)
Isabelle Jensen grimaces in pain with a compound fracture on her right arm. Jensen is a seventh-grade student at Spring Creek Middle School who volunteered to help with the mock disaster. (Photo by Amy Fuller)