Sturgis Hospital trains in simulated incident

STURGIS – An important emergency drill was conducted at Sturgis Hospital on September 13th.

To keep up with real-world training, Sturgis Hospital staff participated in a simulated hazardous situation. The simulated situation took place in a local corn field where a handful of teenagers were removing corn cobs. In the simulated scenario, an agricultural aircraft was not notified of the workers' presence and sprayed the field, causing major problems for the individuals by spraying the chemicals.

Some suffered respiratory problems and chemical burns. In the simulated situation, the scene at Sturgis Hospital was in a frenzy as the hazard tent was set up and workers swung into action. A pair of triage nurses managed the situation as best they could as patients arrived and the situation evolved.

The simulated incident included a heart attack, a student (patient) arriving at the scene with a dying friend in the back seat, patients with chemical burns in their eyes, and family members arriving agitated and screaming. MedFlight even flew in from Elkhart, Indiana to participate in the simulation because of the heart attack.

“We wanted to see where we stand and how our staff would respond in the event of a disaster like this,” said Stacey Tesman, clinical coordinator of Sturgis Hospital's emergency department. “We've had a lot of other departments here step in and take over their roles in a disaster situation like this.”

Both Tesman and Chief Nursing Officer Randy Falkenstein took charge of the preparations for the surgery. It took some time, both agreed, and there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work in preparation.

In total, the incident lasted about three and a half hours from start to finish. Falkenstein said it began at the Sturgis Police and Fire Department, where everyone was interviewed, including the dozen or so student volunteers. Several of those students were made up to look like they had head injuries as part of the reenactment.

“It was a positive situation today, we learned a lot and wanted to utilize our staff to the maximum today,” said Falkenstein. “We used all community resources today. We wanted to work with everyone available in the community.”

Loren Corbin, chief nursing officer, said the day was resource-intensive, but it was definitely a positive one. Head office was aware the hospital was conducting the drill, but the outside doctors who would be called in in the event of a disaster were not aware. Communication, she said, was essential and everything went well.

She also had a lot of praise for Falkenstein and Tesman.

“These two have been great at preparing, they've worked so hard,” she said. “These things (disasters) happen and both Randy and Stacey have worked really hard to train and prepare our people when something like this happens and how we deal with it.”

Tesman, who has been the emergency department's clinical coordinator for over a decade, said the best thing she experienced during the situation was the communication among staff. The exercise involved over 50 people from different departments of the hospital.

“We worked really well together, with many of our staff coming in on their day off,” she said. “They got the text message, jumped in and worked as a team. Communication worked well.”

One reason for the exercise was to see what the hospital's disaster education and training was like. Tesman said Christina Benson, Region 5 disaster and preparedness coordinator, was on hand to take notes and provide feedback on the day's events. She and Falkenstein agreed that the feedback was positive.

Sturgis Hospital trains in simulated incident

You may also like...

Recent Posts

Sturgis Hospital trains in simulated incident

You may also like...

Sun Devils show dominance in the trenches

US Open 2024: Aryna Sabalenka faces Jessica Pegula in the women's singles final

Baugé, Beaufort and Noyant. The three unique museums have opened their doors for the Heritage Days

Recent Posts