LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital partnered with local and statewide agencies to participate in a county-wide disaster preparedness drill earlier this month.

The drill simulated a mass contamination incident and involved the National Guard, FBI, Homeland Security, Department of Energy Radiological Assistance, Lake County Fire Department, Lake County Sheriff Department, St. Helena Clearlake Hospital, Kelseyville Community Organization for Rescue and Public Service ( K-CORPS), Lake County Ambulance service and the Medical Reserve Corps.

K-CORPS student volunteers acted as patients, complete with moulage makeup simulating trauma injuries.

The students arrived via ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where members of the National Guard and the Department of Energy Radiological Services simulated screening them for hazardous chemical contamination.

“Each mock victim receives a triage tag,” said Cyndy Forbes, RN, Pre-hospital Care Nurse Coordinator, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “The patient is rated according to acuity, or severity of injuries, and given a unique number that corresponds to them and their belongings. Hurricane Katrina brought to light the fact that during a disaster, it’s very hard to keep track of patients and reunite them with their families. One of our goals in practicing this exercise is to refine our ability to know where an individual is being treated despite a large volume of patients, and improve reunification of patients with their families.”

The students received hospital gowns as well as plastic bags in which to place personal items. Nurses then tagged the students’ bags with a corresponding number.

“This exercise tests our health care facilities’ capabilities, resources and overall preparedness for response to radiological threats or contamination, patient tracking and mass influx of patients,” said Kim Baldwin, Emergency Preparedness Health Program coordinator, Lake County Public Health. “Such an exercise ensures the hospitals are prepared to track and manage patients as well as gauges decontamination response capabilities and appropriate use of resource requests.”

After initial triage, nurses, first responders, and National Guard sergeants ushered students into coordinating treatment areas, where more care providers practiced treating each student according to his or her simulated injury.

Afterwards, all participants of the exercise met to debrief and discuss opportunities for future improvements.

“We learned that we have more resources available to us than we were aware,” said Forbes. “We plan to continue mass casualty triage training because the process is so different than what we’re used to in the emergency department. Mass casualty triage is about judiciously allocating limited resources for more patients.”

“We hope to never need the extensive resources available to us in case of a disaster,” said Siri Nelson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “However, it’s imperative that our staff feels prepared, educated, and empowered in an event such as a chemical contamination. By practicing in partnership with other agencies that a disaster would affect, we ensure organization and efficient care when it’s the most time sensitive.”

Nearly all hospitals have response plans for chemical emergencies, natural disasters, epidemics and biological incidents, according to a 2011 National Health Statistics report.

Hospitals and other disaster-responders expanded preparedness for emergency incidents following the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

National awareness about disaster planning has increased in response to Hurricane Katrina, and outbreaks of illnesses such as swine flu and Ebola, according to the report.

“Hospitals are a critical element within the disaster medical response system and work collaboratively with local government, other health care providers and other agencies to plan, prepare for and respond to the needs of victims of natural or manmade disasters, bioterrorism and other public health emergencies,” said Baldwin. “Hospital emergency preparedness is a priority for government at all levels, as well as a key focus of regulatory and accrediting agencies. Better prepared health care facilities ensure a better prepared community.”

Morgen Wells is the Community Relations and Fund Development specialist for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.