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Hudson Hospital Emergency Center recently underwent an emergency preparedness drill to prepare, train and respond to mass casualty incidents. Lots of activity in and around the Emergency Center and ambulance garage captured the attention of staff as they were called to respond using proper procedure and protocol. The drill was also part of Hudson Hospital Emergency Center’s yearly mandatory emergency preparedness response to mass casualties and confined to the Emergency Center area of the hospital.

This drill simulation exercise was sponsored by a grant through the West Central Regional Trauma Advisory Council (WC-RTAC). RTAC is a state-funded program that works to educate on pre-hospital, and hospital care of trauma patients. Every few years they use grant dollars to exercise regional hospitals and EMS in care of trauma patients and follow the multiple casualty incident (MCI). The drill simulation was a bus crash, which was taken from a much larger tabletop exercise that the Regions Emergency Center has been working on for a few years.

Regions EMS and Education facilitated and evaluated the exercise at Hudson. Other participants included St. Croix EMS & Rescue and Lakeview EMS of Stillwater, along with 15 Hudson Hospital Emergency Center medical staff.

The objectives of this emergency drill included: testing local EMS capabilities of triaging and transferring multiple causalities; testing the hospitals ability to respond to multiple trauma patients over a short period of time; determining if the hospital has the resources to care for multiple causalities with their current supplies; and testing the Emergency Center staff’s ability to appropriately use ATLS/TNCC procedures and techniques.

An evaluation of the drill will be provided to Hudson Hospital Emergency Center for review, including photos and a video of what went well and areas for improvement. According to Kelly Sather, Emergency Center nurse manager, “It is important to continue to train and drill on the care of patients in a mass casualty situation and learn about incidents that might push the Emergency Center’s ability to respond. Complexity of patients, staffing and physical resources are some of the huge challenges when faced with incidents of any size.” Another more extensive emergency preparedness drill is anticipated this fall.

Hudson Hospital & Clinic is a non-profit health care provider located just off Interstate I-94 in Hudson, WI. The campus is designed with the latest technology and amenities to support whole health and healing for patients and their families - including a nationally acclaimed healing arts program. Twenty-five private hospital rooms feature private bath, garden views, guest accommodations and room service for patients and guests. Services include a regionally popular Birth Center, Rehabilitation Center, Imaging Center, cancer care, heart care, neurology, orthopedics and more. Hudson Hospital & Clinic is a member of the HealthPartners family of care.