Happy Zombies???

Not!! Standardized Patients from Western Michigan University School of Medicine; Emergency Medical Services (EMS) students from Kalamazoo Valley Community College and other community members spent a portion of a day this week serving as mock patients in a mass casualty incident simulation as a component of Advanced Disaster Life Support training for Emergency Medicine Residents preparing for EMS field response. Kudos to these fabulous actors for their contribution to this excellent training.

Simulated trauma victims help Residents learn how to address mass casualty situations

Regional Partners Busy During the Summer

Throughout the summer, 5th District partners support numerous events by providing medical services and injury/illness prevention activities.  Region 5 equipment is also deployed to many events throughout the summer.  Seen here at the B-93 Birthday Bash are a Borgess Medical Center medical team along with Western Michigan University School of Medicine Emergency Medicine physicians who provided aid to tens of thousands (!) of spectators at the event.  Also deployed was the Region’s Rehab vehicle, which provided cooling and support for public safety personnel that also worked at the busy venue.  This is just the beginning of a busy summer ahead!

Response: Local to National

At the April Coalition Meeting, members heard presentations on response from a local and national perspective. Borgess Medical Center’s Administrative Director of Patient Placement, Julie Maleitzke, presented on a power outage that occurred at the hospital in February of this year. Julie described the activation of incident command, how the facility managed patient care in the dark through the use of flashlights and headlamps and lessons learned from the incident. To add a National level point of view, Ed Holcomb of the Red Cross presented on his experiences responding to the aftermath of a number of tornadoes that swept through Alabama and several other southern states. Ed commented on the national efforts of the Red Cross and other national entities, such as FEMA, that responded to help with recovery efforts. Both great examples of why preparedness and planning are so important!

The Ins and Outs of Active Shooter

On February 20th, Kalamazoo experienced the terror of an active shooter incident. While active shooter has been a hot topic nationwide, having an incident occur locally had an impact across Region 5, leaving preparedness for such events on everyone’s mind.

At the March 8th Coalition meeting, Coalition members heard two presentations about active shooter preparedness: the response from the outside and how to prepare and respond from the inside. Lt. Bob Kirk and Sgt. Wayne Polomcak from Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office of Domestic Preparedness provided insight on what to expect from law enforcement and the external response to an active shooter. Dan Kettenbiel, Dawn Zomer and Kelvin Oliver from Bronson Methodist Hospital presented their findings from active shooter exercises they have conducted in the hospital and how the lessons learned have helped them better prepare staff to be ready. Both presentations sparked great conversation amongst Coalition members on how to better prepare their plans and their facilities. Thank you to everyone that presented for sharing such valuable insight!

Using Lessons Learned to Grow as a Coalition

At February’s Coalition meeting, members heard lessons learned from the recent I-94 crashes that took place near Hartford on January 17th, 2016. Michigan State Police Post 51 Post Commander F/Lt. Dale Hinz , who worked the I-94 crash in 2015 as well, and Lt. Robert Kirk, Director of the Van Buren County Office of Domestic Preparedness , presented the successes and gaps identified during 2016’s round of crashes. A series of 3 separate crashes, involving 52 vehicles and 2 fatalities, an early activation of the EOC and the use of resources were two aspects that went well. A better understanding of EMResource by the EOC and early notification to the hospitals were identified as gaps that are being addressed. As major highways run through the majority of Region 5, Coalition members can use these valuable lessons learned in their own counties to ensure a safer response to these types of incidents. Thank you to all Region 5 partners that were involved in this response and your continued efforts to help keep Region 5 safe!