Womack conducts mass casualty exercise

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Dec. 3, 2015) -- Womack Army Medical Center conducted an exercise after hours Dec. 2 to test the capabilities of its staff and identify areas for improvement to better prepare for a large influx of patients within a short time period due to a mass casualty event.

The exercise consisted of a notional incident where a tanker truck carrying a hazardous substance was involved in a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Honeycutt Road and Bragg Boulevard.

Hazardous material spilled from the tanker, contaminating victims and the area.

The "accident" occurred at 6 p.m., taxing the existing staffing at the hospital during those hours. It resulted in a staff recall to bring off-duty staff in to assist in triaging and caring for the patients, as well as helping at the WAMC decontamination site.

In keeping with what would happen during a real incident, WAMC security forces blocked the entrances to the hospital, only allowing staff to come in through the entrance off of Reilly Road. Real-world patients and visitors were still allowed to enter through any normal access point to minimize the impact on regular hospital operations.

Even with the entrances being blocked, a role-playing patient left the accident scene and presented at the WAMC Emergency Department shortly after 6 p.m. without undergoing the decontamination process. Their arrival resulted in another patient being contaminated and causing the ED waiting room to be shut down, resulting in the ED reconfiguring its triage procedures.

"This exercise forced us to adjust our organization and flow," said Lt. Col. Sean Fortson, chief, WAMC Emergency Department. "Patients can't just present to the ED, decontamination is an added step in the process."

Col. Kenneth Shaw, chief, CBRNE Team, said that the active shooter earlier that day in California and the recent chemical fire in China shows the importance of mass casualty training and he said that the hospital is fully capable of responding to similar events.

"This training helps us make sure we're following our checklists and that we're doing it safely so we can take care of patients effectively," said Shaw.

WAMC conducts mass casualty training exercises every six months.

"We run them frequently because they help prepare our staff on different scenarios involving mass casualties," said Marsha Lunt, emergency manager, WAMC. "It's important to train to ensure that we remain a high reliability organization."

Fortson said that the training provided an additional challenge for the ED staff.

"This is a unique experience for us because we're maintaining our real-world mission while participating in the exercise," he said. "We're a 24-hours a day, seven days a week operation. Right now, we're balancing both. Two doors down from the role players in these rooms are patients who really are receiving emergency care."

Providers, medics, administrative staff and CBRNE team members all bustled around the hospital and decontamination area, assisting patients and each other as they worked toward the goal of treating all the role players who needed care.

"If we're not rehearsing, then we're not ready," said Col. Jeffrey Morgan, deputy commander for clinical services, WAMC. "We have to go through the process and create the stress. That's why we're here."