Ogallala Community Hospital practices disaster preparedness drill
OGALLALA, Neb. (June 7, 2011) – While we can not predict what will happen,Ogallala Community Hospital is learning from and working with the other hospitals in our region to create a realistic plan for disaster response that anticipates real risks for our area.
To anticipate local needs and response, 20 Banner Health Ogallala Community Hospital employees, Tracy Eveland of Sandhills District Health Department and Laurie Hood from Keith Co. Communications took part in a tabletop drill on Wednesday, June 1, with members of other regional agencies in McCook, Grant, North Platte and Benkelmen.
The drill consisted of events including a bacterial meningitis outbreak, minor and severe traumas resulting from boating and motor vehicle accidents.
Team members walked through the timeline of the day to make critical decisions to ensure a plan is in place in event of a real emergency. Similar drills are planned every three months to provide ongoing training. “Having all of our key players take part in preparedness drills is essential as it greatly increases the success factor in a real emergency situation,” says Bob Edwards, Ogallala Community Hospital CEO.
Banner Health Ogallala Community Hospital is part of the West Central Medical Response System (WCMRS) serving a primarily rural area that has a population of approximately 81,127 people over a 14,607 square mile area.
WCMRS serves the counties of Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Arthur, McPherson, Logan, Keith, Lincoln, Perkins, Chase, Hayes, Frontier, Dundy, Hitchcock, Red Willow, and Furnas and is the sixth Medical Response System to be implemented by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services under a federally funded grant program.
“Being part of a response system is great advantage to our community as hospitals in our region share supplies and personnel in the event of a disaster situation,” says Kevin Klockman, steering committee member of WCMRS. In addition, the Medical Response System provides resources for training, education; exercises and communication enhancement for local hospital staff.
About Banner Health
Phoenix-based Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns or manages 23 acute-care hospitals, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health facilities are located in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about Banner Health, go to http://www.bannerhealth.com.
