Quincy emergency services coordinate disaster training
Plumas County emergency services agencies and personnel joined in on a statewide practical exercise to prepare for catastrophe on a grand scale.
Command centers were set up Nov. 17 at the County Annex and Plumas District Hospital. During an actual emergency, a command center would be set up at the incident location.
Leann Kennedy, community relations coordinator for PDH, described the 2016 Emergency Disaster Preparedness Drill scenario: “The incident scenario the agencies prepared for is a bus crash on Chandler Road involving students.”
During the drill, emergency personnel were alerted that 10 students would be coming to the hospital. The goal of the exercise is to have a space ready for the victims within 15 to 50 minutes of notification of the incident.
With many new people on staff, this year’s drill did not involve pretend victims as it did last year. Darren Beatty, special projects manager at PDH, kept orientation of organizational processes as the primary focus versus acting out the details of the drill.
“If there is an influx of patients that the hospital would not be able to accommodate, a temporary tent would be set up,” said Kennedy.
Disaster Preparedness Organizer Darren Beatty reviews processes with members of the emergency response staff during the 2016 statewide Emergency Disaster Preparedness Drill held Nov. 17.The tent would be ready for decontamination in a situation involving hazardous materials or convert to a space that could accommodate 10 additional patients should the hospital become filled to capacity, according to Kennedy.
The crew of the command center located at Plumas District Hospital pauses for a group photo after successfully assembling an emergency services station during a practice exercise. This pause would only happen in such a training scenario. From left Michael O’Massey, Facilities manager; Rebecca Olney, Environmental Services lead; Darren Beatty, Special Projects manager; (back row) Ginger Martindale, Perinatal Services manager; (front) Leann Kennedy, Community Relations coordinator; (back row) Lisette Brown, chief clinical officer; (front) Tomala Marcos, quality/risk manager; Cheryl Pini, med-surg. manager; Kay Lund, registered dietitian; Mandy Hovland, patient access manager; Mark Thomas, Care Flight paramedic; Sam Blesse, Care Flight ground emergency medical supervisor; Matthew Brown, Care Flight ground operations manager; Wendy Stewart, RHC scheduler; Cindy Warner, Employee Health/Infection control coordinator; Robbie Cassou, Quincy Fire chief; Shawn Rader, Safety Officer and Dental Clinic supervisor; Dr. Jeffrey Kepple, PDH CEO; Steve Tolen, Emergency Preparedness consultant.
Working together, members of an emergency response crew assemble a temporary decontamination tent Nov. 17 that doubles as a services tent for 10 victims in case of an overflow in the hospital. Photos by Mari Erin Roth
