It was a only drill, but the scene of an mass casualty disaster was a bleacher collapse at the Holdrege High School. The exercise, hosted by Phelps Memorial Health Center, was aimed at sharpening the skills and improving knowledge in mass casualty triage.
The exercise not only taught triage, but also the importance of cooperation and communication between multiple emergency response crews. Members of Phelps Memorial Emergency Services, Holdrege Police Department, Great Plains Air, and members of fire and rescue squads from Holdrege, Funk, Wilcox, Loomis, Bertrand, Arapahoe, and Elwood were present at the drill.
Forty-five first responders began their morning in an educational program about mass casualty triage. Lisa Scofield, MPH, Director of First Responder Education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told them that anytime an event exceeds your resources a decision has to be made.
The triage guideline, entitled SALT (sort, assess, life-saving interventions, treatment and/or transport) triage, is designed to help prioritize patients.
“Triage modes are determined based on what resources and personnel you have available,” said Mrs. Scofield.
In her training she referenced several mass casualty events throughout our county including the Las Vegas shooting, Benkelman train derailment, Seward bus rollover, Omaha mall shooting and talked about specific hazards of a rural community such as chemicals or fertilizers.
She said that “If triage isn’t done on scene by first responders, hospitals can be overwhelmed.”
Tesha Broadfoot, Chief Nursing Officer at Phelps Memorial said, “This training allows the Phelps County EMS teams to test and coordinate the emergency management procedures and response in a mass casualty event.”
Following the education, responders began their drill and walked into a scene of a bleacher collapse at the Holdrege High School stadium with 35 injured people who laid sprawled underneath the bleachers. Injuries ranged from mild to severe and included fatalities. Holdrege High School students and teammates from Phelps Memorial Health Center and their families volunteered to act as victims for the exercise. Victims ranged from 4 months to 70 years old.
Jeff Berney, MD, Family Medical Specialties, Katie Luthy, PA-C, Phelps Medical Group, and Phelps Memorial Health Center emergency department teammates also participated in the event.
“Although this was only a drill, it’s important to always be prepared,” said Mrs. Broadfoot. She added, “The mass casualty drill was extremely successful and gave all the local EMS, medical community and emergency responders insight into what went well and also opportunities for the future to be able to best respond to this types of scenario.”
