Eight Elma High School seniors were given fake injuries and told to act as if the bus they had been riding in had just rolled over.
Last Wednesday, teams of emergency responders from across the county took part in an emergency-preparedness drill in Elma.
Elma and Montesano fire departments, Grays Harbor Fire Districts 1 and 5, and Grays Harbor Communications E-911 Center were among the emergency-responder agencies that responded to a simulated school bus roll over at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma.
Around 10:15 a.m., the call went out over the scanner that the drill started and the bus rolled over.
A few minutes later, the first ambulance arrived on scene from Fire District 5. A couple minutes later, ambulance crews from Fire District 1 near Oakville and the Montesano Fire Department also pulled up on scene.
The students and their families played the victims in the drill. Tysen Richardson played the role of a student thrown from and pinned under the bus Wednesday morning. While waiting for help to arrive, he laid in the dewy grass, gruesome makeup made it look as if he had extensive injuries to his legs.
Jesus Torres had a severe laceration on his face. Once in Summit Pacific Medical Center’s emergency room, Torres was deemed to need an airlift to a hospital better equipped to deal with the level of trauma his body endured. Sadly, he did not get a ride on a helicopter.
The hospital was tasked with notifying parents of their student’s condition and dealing with them as they gathered at the hospital.
Danny Scott, Summit Pacific facilities manager whose responsibilities include emergency preparedness, organized the event for the hospital.
“I thought it went really well,” he said. “I was pleased to see the response of our staff here in house. the way that they responded to potential real-life events. That’s kind of why we staged it.”
Simulations like this are mandated by law for hospitals like Summit Pacific.
“When we do a full-scale drill, we include as many components of staff and facilities as we can,” Scott said. “This one tended to have a bit of a focus on our (Emergency Department). So the ED staff was included. And all of our leadership was included as well. … There were also all of our front-line staff that were impacted by the event. The design was to interact with our staff in a real life situation and get them to respond accordingly.”
Scott said they learned that it would help if they had a better idea of how much blood is on hand, not only at the hospital but also with regional partners, if a mass-casualty event were to occur.
He said it took about two months to plan the event, and the next one would occur in about a half year.
Tysen Richardson pretends to be pinned under a bus during an emergency preparedness drill Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Elma, while an emergency medical technician from Fire District 5 examines him. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)
Elma High School senior Tysen Richardson pretends to have been thrown from a roll-over bus accident and pinned beneath the vehicle Wednesday, Oct. 23, during an emergency preparedness drill at the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds in Elma. His legs have makeup on them to make the simulation more lifelike. Richardson and other “victims” of the crash were transported to Summit Pacific Medical Care by first responders for additional aid. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)
A doctor, two nurses and an emergency room technician evaluate “patient” Jesus Torres (on bed) during an emergency preparedness drill Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)
