U-M Sparrow trains in mass casualty response

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Large-scale emergencies such as mass shootings, bombings, and natural disasters can flood hospitals with hundreds of patients. To prepare for these events, medical personnel participated in a simulation of what it would be like to work in a hospital during a mass casualty at the University of Michigan–Sparrow Hospital on Thursday.

“So, we just pretended to be some of the people who are involved in the incident,” said Charlotte Werth, a pre-med student at Michigan State University.

“It’s really anything that could happen in a mass casualty, and it’s all thrown at them randomly so they don’t know what to expect,” said Griffin Storr, a Spring Arbor medical student.

Werth and Sterr played victims in the training exercise, which simulated a chemical explosion with on-site medical response and decontamination.

More than 50 volunteers—both students and emergency department staff—simulated a wide variety of injuries for the participants in the exercise.

“Anything ranging from ankle injuries, foreign bodies stuck in arms, or abdominal wounds like cuts,” said Storr.

“Resident doctors, other doctors, apps, nurses can all practice on us real humans on what it would be like,” said Werth.

Organizers say that the exercise is meant to prepare the staff for high-stress situations that they otherwise would not be ready for.

“We are doing stuff here to try to help prepare the residents, the staff the faculty to kind of get prepared for a scenario where we have something like this, that would be both catastrophic and of course horribly sad,” said Dr. Jeff McGowan, an emergency medicine physician at Sparrow. “Make it so we challenge the residents, challenge the team, as well as all of those nurses that are in those things.”

One by one, whether it be by wheelchair or gurney, the Sparrow team decontaminated and treated injuries, with organizers taking notes and seeing what approach worked best, allowing them to be better prepared for the future.

“I would rather be prepared for both our system, as well as everyone around the mid-Michigan area that we’ve at least been practicing things to kind of get people ready for this,” said McGowan.

For medical students like Werth and Storr, participating in the exercise is a great experience.

“We want to make sure that everybody in the healthcare system, specifically Sparrow being a Level 1 trauma center is prepared,” said Werth. “Without practice, it could be a little chaotic.”

Although the injuries were fake and no actual treatment was needed, Sparrow’s emergency response team was able to get through 50 patients in just under 45 minutes.

“It’s a great opportunity to show our commitment to the field,” said Storr. “And it’s a great opportunity to help the community out any way we can.”

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