- Saint Alphonsus preps with tabletop discussions, in-person drills, and an internal command structure for communication.
- A verified GoFundMe account has been created for one victim who's currently in critical condition.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
When mass casualties happen in the community, like last week'shangar collapse, it's all hands on deck for trauma response teams. We spoke with doctors at Saint Alphonsus about how they prepare for emergencies.
“Mass casualties occur a few times a year so it's something that we prepare for frequently,” says Dr. Brian Coates, Interim Trauma Medical Director for Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boiseis the premier trauma center in the Treasure Valley, and to handle emergency events like last Wednesday it takes extreme communication and organization.
Dr. Coates says, “Preparation is very key because when a tragedy like this occurs we really need to have a script that we follow, so people understand what their role is and so there's no miscommunication and misunderstanding of what the role is.”
Twice a year Saint Alphonsus runs in-person drills at the hospital related to trauma response, along with tabletop discussions about how to respond during an emergency.
Dr. Coates continues, he says, “We have an internal command structure that sets up a process where we can communicate with our EMS colleagues, folks that are bringing us patients. It helps us have good communication so we know how many patients we're going to receive and what types of injuries they may not have.”
Nine were injured in the construction collapse near the airport last Wednesday, five of those, in critical condition.
One patient was taken to St. Luke’s
Saint Alphonsus, not releasing the number of patients in their care or their current conditions, but Dr. Coates says staff stepped up to care for those in need.
"The trauma team was excellent. We mobilized a significant amount of resources,” he says, “The nursing response was fantastic the community really came together to help those in time of need.”
A verified GoFundMethat has been created for one of the victims involved in the collapse, the GoFundMe states that his condition is still critical.
