At 11 a.m., on Friday (April 9), emergency personnel got the call that no one wants to get. It was the call of a major disaster -- school bus vs. train.
Of course, no real disaster happened. It was a training drill designed to test the abilities of personnel to handle a major accident.
The drill started with students from the Aurora High School drama department getting prepped with make-up and chicken parts to give the impression of injuries sustained in an accident.
Each student was equipped with an information card, telling them what his/her injuries were and what they were supposed to tell paramedics and fire fighters.
Emergency personnel participating in the drill were St. John’s Lifeline; St. John’s Hospital -- Aurora; ambulance services from St. John’s and Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance District; city and rural fire departments from Aurora, Marionville and Verona; and Aurora Police Department, as well as others.
While some of the personnel were scheduled to be at work, others were alerted by the hospital’s GroupCast, which is a system alert to hospital employees of a disaster.
The scene was staged at Oak Park with ambulances delivering “patients” to St. John’s Hospital -- Aurora for care.
Firefighters and paramedics were on hand at the scene to determine which student was injured the worst and which just needed minor care. One student was deemed in very serious condition and was airlifted.
At the hospital, employees involved each had a duty whether it was caring for patients, keeping the media out of the way or consoling a grieving family.
The drill ended at 12:35 p.m. with 27 patients involved -- two died. Karen Wilson, emergency room manager, seemed to be pleased with how well the drill went.
The main issue found was communication. Wilson said the inhouse communication was done on walkie talkies. There was a lot of interference, she said.
The hospital is looking into new methods for inhouse communication to eliminate the intereference.
Another issue was the amount of paperwork in the triage area. The triage area was outside, and personnel suggested to use only disaster tags in that area and have the paperwork inside.
Evaluators included Candy Adams, Region D disaster coordinator; James Vorman, head of security at Cox Monett Hospital; Patti Nash, head of infection control at Cox Monett Hospital; and others.
One evaluator said the responsibilities wre carried out well.
“We thought everything went really well,” Wilson said, adding the students were great.
Wilson said the group will focus on improving communication between EMS, ambulances and the hospital to be prepared for a real disaster.
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At 11 a.m., on Friday (April 9), emergency personnel got the call that no one wants to get. It was the call of a major disaster -- school bus vs. train.
Of course, no real disaster happened. It was a training drill designed to test the abilities of personnel to handle a major accident.
The drill started with students from the Aurora High School drama department getting prepped with make-up and chicken parts to give the impression of injuries sustained in an accident.
Each student was equipped with an information card, telling them what his/her injuries were and what they were supposed to tell paramedics and fire fighters.
Emergency personnel participating in the drill were St. John’s Lifeline; St. John’s Hospital -- Aurora; ambulance services from St. John’s and Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance District; city and rural fire departments from Aurora, Marionville and Verona; and Aurora Police Department, as well as others.
While some of the personnel were scheduled to be at work, others were alerted by the hospital’s GroupCast, which is a system alert to hospital employees of a disaster.
The scene was staged at Oak Park with ambulances delivering “patients” to St. John’s Hospital -- Aurora for care.
Firefighters and paramedics were on hand at the scene to determine which student was injured the worst and which just needed minor care. One student was deemed in very serious condition and was airlifted.
At the hospital, employees involved each had a duty whether it was caring for patients, keeping the media out of the way or consoling a grieving family.
The drill ended at 12:35 p.m. with 27 patients involved -- two died. Karen Wilson, emergency room manager, seemed to be pleased with how well the drill went.
The main issue found was communication. Wilson said the inhouse communication was done on walkie talkies. There was a lot of interference, she said.
The hospital is looking into new methods for inhouse communication to eliminate the intereference.
Another issue was the amount of paperwork in the triage area. The triage area was outside, and personnel suggested to use only disaster tags in that area and have the paperwork inside.
Evaluators included Candy Adams, Region D disaster coordinator; James Vorman, head of security at Cox Monett Hospital; Patti Nash, head of infection control at Cox Monett Hospital; and others.
One evaluator said the responsibilities wre carried out well.
“We thought everything went really well,” Wilson said, adding the students were great.
Wilson said the group will focus on improving communication between EMS, ambulances and the hospital to be prepared for a real disaster.
