Crisis scenario gives hospital staff practice

BARSTOW • Ten thousand people are exposed to an unknown contagion at the San Bernardino County Fair. Fifty have flu-like symptoms and white marks on their skin. It could be smallpox.

This is not a Hollywood doomsday scenario; this sequence of events is what Barstow Community Hospital staff faced this week as they participated in a grant-funded program meant to prepare them for mass crises. Plans developed by participants included housing patient overflow in nearby cafeterias and churches.

Although an outbreak at the county fair seems unlikely, the operational outlines developed by staff to deal with the scenario would still be useful for more likely disasters in Barstow such as train derailments or chemical spills, said hospital spokesman John Rader.

Program trainer Rick Bullard said that much of the scenario put the staff under pressure to emphasize teamwork and not detailed medical expertise.

“When a disaster occurs, a hospital needs to turn into a strict chain-of-command operation with discipline and people following orders,” said Bullard, who said he hosts the program, funded by a state grant, at 18 other hospitals around the county.

A housekeeping supervisor, bio-medical engineer, nursing assistant and radiology technician were among the attendees of the two-day program.

“The more experience we have operating together, the better we are when a disaster hits,” said Susan Biewend, an infection control nurse who is also the hospital’s emergency preparedness director.

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