Yesterday, Kona Community Hospital and Kohala Hospital participated in the 28th Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. The hospitals played a role in the Hawaiʻi Healthcare Emergency Management (HHEM) portion of the biennial disaster response exercise.

At 7am KCH performed a mock “Code Triage,” which activated the event.  14 role play victims, which included children, entered the hospital following a mass casualty that resulted from a collapsed hotel during a hurricane.  The victims were assessed by the KCH triage team and surged into the emergency department in order of the acuity level of their simulated injuries which ranged from minor injuries to full traumas.

Personnel immediately assessed the hospital’s real-time status, reporting on bed capacity, labor availability, and medical, pharmaceutical and dietary supplies and more.

Drill participants included staff from various departments as well as volunteer actors.  Special effects makeup was applied to simulate real wounds and injuries.

For Kona Community Hospital, drill objectives included managing a real-world disaster during an influx of patients into the emergency department, and training employees about the disaster management process. Kohala Hospital’s (KH) primary objective during the exercise was to support KCH in patient management. Staff at KH coordinated with KCH to transfer less acute patients from KCH to alleviate an overflow of patients due to the influx of emergency patients. The team also conducted tabletop disaster management training during the drill. After the event, a debriefing was conducted to discuss the drill’s findings and evaluate areas that might need more work in the future.

 

 

Photo credit: Kona Community Hospital