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SJPH Partners with Neighboring Organizations to Host Successful Disaster Drill
St. James Parish Hospital recently partnered with emergency responders and hospitals from St. James, St. John and St. Charles Parishes for an emergency preparedness drill to test the hospital’s ability to decontaminate victims and handle a high surge of patients in the Emergency Room. The drill was also an opportunity for the hospital and other participating organizations to practice working as a team to handle an emergency.
The drill began in the St. James Parish Hospital dining room as acting “victims” gathered to learn the plan of action. Each victim was explained the severity of their injury and was given a list of symptoms to discuss or portray upon arrival to the hospital. This was an opportunity for emergency personnel and hospital employees to later evaluate victims and determine the order of which to begin working with each patient.
After a planning meeting, victims were taken to a local park to await the next stage of the drill. At this point, hospital leaders were contacted and informed about the “emergency,” which consisted of an explosion and chemical contamination in a neighboring parish. Hospital leaders met and began the Incident Command System, which assigns roles and duties to key employees.
The drill continued as victims with different levels of injury began to arrive at the hospital by ambulance. Some employees were suited up with personal protective equipment and assigned to the decontamination team, which involved a strategic process to properly wash patients, while other employees gathered resources to prepare for the surge of patients. All over the hospital employees came together to help transport, register and treat acting patients.
Jeremy Martin, Director of Safety at St. James Parish Hospital, planned the drill and worked with other organizations to not only make the simulation realistic, but also gain valuable feedback from varying perspectives. Upon conclusion of the drill, the team at St. James Parish Hospital and the other participating organizations met to debrief. During this discussion, leaders talked about what was done well during the drill and where there were opportunities for improvement. This information will be utilized during subsequent safety meetings at the hospital. The entire process was taken very seriously and performed with the goal of becoming better prepared for our community and neighboring communities in the eye of an emergency.
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St. James Parish Hospital | 1645 Lutcher Avenue | Lutcher, LA 70071 | Phone: (225) 869-5512 | Fax: (225) 869-4956
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