Disaster Preparedness
Disaster drill photos. Top left: Simulated school bus bombing. Top right: Emergency Department staff with evaluators. Bottom left: Security setting up extra cots in lobby. Bottom right: Disaster drill victims in the Emergency Department.
HCMC is here for Minnesotans. A bridge collapses… The state prepares for H1N1 influenza. In emergencies, large and small, HCMC is here to do what it has always done – prepared and ready to react immediately…
Effective disaster response requires thorough disaster preparedness. HCMC coordinated the development of the Metropolitan Hospital Compact, bringing community hospitals together to coordinate disaster preparedness and response; as the Regional Hospital Resource Center for the 7-county metro region (2.6 million people), HCMC coordinates 30 hospitals and their affiliated clinics, long term care facilities, and unaffiliated clinics.
HCMC develops and implements disaster plans, coordinates hospital- and community-based exercises with metro emergency management, the MN Department of Health, schools, fire, police, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and local public health, and prepares and disseminates disaster training and response materials.
In an emergency, HCMC EMS and the Medical Resource Control Center at HCMC coordinate transport of patients in and out of Minnesota from disaster sites. HCMC also functions as a Global Migration and Quarantine Facility for the Centers for Disease Control, to identify and treat the first cases of unknown infectious diseases that arrive to the Twin Cities through international flights.
HCMC has collaborated extensively in the development, implementation, and dissemination across Minnesota of projects like the Minnesota Mobile Medical Unit, Mass Casualty Incident Buses, and Alternate Care Sites, to provide communities with access to alternative medical facilities and supplies if hospital resources are overwhelmed. HCMC assumes responsibilities, risks, and costs of key leadership roles in disaster preparedness, to develop and implement projects that benefit Minnesotans around the state.
Hazardous Materials (Haz Mat) drill
HCMC also trains police, firefighters, and paramedics in hazardous materials handling, and trains physicians, nurses, and other providers across the state in the recognition and treatment of illnesses and injuries related to weapons of mass destruction. In the first half of 2011, HCMC participated in educational events that trained over 1000 disaster preparedness professionals.
Disaster preparedness is much more than being there with Level I trauma care to pick up the pieces. It involves ongoing, careful preparation including detailed planning to coordinate the availability of hospital beds, health care workers, alternate medical care sites, and supplies and medicine across the state before disaster strikes. Thanks to its leadership and collaboration in Emergency Management Planning, HCMC is here for all Minnesotans, when we need it.
HCMC ambulance at the scene
HCMC staff ready to receive bridge collapse victims in the Stabilization Room of the Emergency Department
HCMC received the President's Award from the National Association of Public Hospitals (NAPH) for its response to the I-35W bridge collapse. HCMC EMS responded within minutes with initial ambulances and supervisors. HCMC rapidly cleared 28 Emergency Department beds, 10 operating rooms, and 22 ICU beds. HCMC received all critical patients from the scene; 24 patients were stabilized and 8 emergency surgeries performed, including an emergency cesarian section; both mother and baby made a full recovery. The NAPH president commented that HCMC's rapid and effective coordination of the EMS response and its care of critical victims "underscores the essential role safety net hospitals play nationwide when disaster strikes."
Read the President's Award Press Release and more about HCMC's response to the bridge collapse in the Emergency Medicine Activities Report.
