By Sylvie Belmondbelmond@theacorn.com
Sick people are rushing into
the Los Robles Hospital and
Medical Center emergency room
while paramedics, nurses and
physicians scramble to treat them.
In Tuesday’s drill, it appears that a
toxic substance–-the result of an
accident or bioterrorism—has
contaminated a local park.
Coughing, vomiting, drooling, and suffering from intolerable abdominal pain, patients began to pour into Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center while
emergency personnel hurriedly
set up cross-contamination prevention zones.
As he sat on a gurney twisting
in pain, a young man told hospital workers that landscapers had
sprayed a pesticide at the Thousand Oaks Community Center
park, unaware that people were in
the area.
A bright yellow decontamination chamber was quickly set up
near the emergency room.
Diane Freeman, emergency
department director, coordinated
the effort to contain the spread of
the unknown toxic substance that
was making ill yet another group
of incoming patients, who were
running towards the ER.
Fortunately, that scenario was
just a simulation, and the actors
were volunteers.
The drill, organized by the Los
Robles Emergency Preparedness
team, helped to prepare everyone
at the hospital in the event of a
hazardous material (hazmat) contamination.
“Drills are important because
they help us identify the gaps,”
said Freeman.
Los Robles could possibly encounter a hazmat incident because
some trains going through
Moorpark and Simi Valley carry
toxic materials, said Kris
Carraway-Bowman, Los Robles
spokesperson.
Tuesday’s drill uncovered
some problems with traffic control and security, said Freeman,
following a briefing to discuss the
event. She said hospital officials
plan to resolve the weaknesses.
Although the hospital organizes several drills each year to
deal with a variety of issues,
hazmat incidents are unique because people have to be decontaminated before they come into
the emergency room or the hospital.
Los Robles is prepared, said
Carraway-Bowman. “We are the
only hospital in Ventura County
that has a decontamination room
dedicated for this.”
Several people can be decontaminated simultaneously in the
room, which is outside of the ER.
Nonetheless, hospital workers set
up a backup decontamination tent
during the drill to ensure that, if
necessary, more victims could be
handled.
In a hazmat situation, the hospital would also have to lock
down to prevent spreading the
agent inside the buildings. “No
one can come in or out because if
they did they would infect the entire hospital,” said CarrawayBowman.
Although Ventura County Fire
Department Capt. Brian Dilley
and his team from Medic Engine
34 came to observe, they might
not be available if this were a real
emergency, Dilley said.
The Ventura County Fire Department goes through extensive
decontamination training every
year, said firefighter and paramedic Michael Hansen, as he observed that some people who had
already been decontaminated
came back into a contaminated
zone. That would be a big problem in a real situation, he said.
“The main thing is to undress the patients, take them
though the showers and isolate
all the treatment areas,” Hansen
said.
The fire department is also
equipped to decontaminate victims at the site of the incident,
Hansen said.
In an actual hazmat situation, it’s unlikely that patients
would come directly to the hospital, said Freeman. They would
call Emergency Medical Services, who in turn would advise
the hospital about the number of
patients they should expect.
Ventura County is well-prepared overall, and agencies are
coordinated to maximize the effectiveness of their responses in
emergencies, said Freeman.
“No man is an island. If
there’s a disaster of any kind,
everyone has to collaborate.
That’s the only way to be able
to respond effectively,” Freeman said.
Individuals and institutions
should be able to function independently and know what their
resources are, said Freeman.
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