Agencies practice for the worst

PABLO — Several strands of the influenza have taken the lives of many throughout history, and now with the recent spread of the swine flu it is important to be prepared for a pandemic of sorts.

The Lake County Health Department staged an outbreak of deadly proportions Thursday, working in tandem with emergency responders, local law enforcement and area hospitals. The emergency preparedness exercise provided an opportunity for the various agencies involved to evaluate their performance, noting strengths and weaknesses.

The scenario was this: In the past month pandemic influenza hit Montana, six people in Lake County have died from the illness, hospitals are down one-third of their staff, schools have been closed for the past two weeks, there has been a declaration of emergency in Lake County and a “flu hotline” has been setup to answer questions.

As the exercise dictated, local hospitals and pharmacies ran out of the Tamiflu treatment, and Lake County Health Officer John William, M.D., and Tribal Health Officer Leanna Muzquiz, M.D., have assessed the need to access the Strategic National Stockpile for prophylactics. A call has been made to the governor who approved the request.

Broadcast media recently disclosed bus pickup locations where healthy individuals could be driven to an undisclosed Mass Clinic location to obtain treatment for sick friends and family.

As part of the exercise, vehicles were prohibited from entering the secured area during the time of the emergency preparedness exercise. Two buses of volunteers from the Kicking Horse Job Corp. headed to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Fire Control station in Ronan for treatment at the Mass Clinic.

During bus transport a mock-vehicle crash occurred, involving one of the buses and a semi-truck.

Local Emergency Medical Transport, law enforcement and fire personnel were on the scene of the accident to maintain order and provide assistance. Sixteen passengers staged injuries in during the exercise and were transported to Saint Luke and Saint Joseph Medical Centers. The Sheriff’s Department coroner was called onto the mock-scene, as the bus driver’s injuries proved fatal.

The emergency preparedness exercise began at 9 a.m. and at noon a debriefing was held at CSKT Fire Control where the various agencies involved reflected on their efforts and how the scenario would unfold in real-time.

“It was a pretty fast scene,” a local EMT personnel said during the discussions. “On a real scene we’d have a lot more time. Patients were pre-triaged before we got there.”

Sheena Madsen, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Lake County Public Health, said this was the first exercise of this kind in Lake County.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “We’re fortunate the tribal and county work so well together. Everyone is willing and eager to step up to the plate.”

The exercise has been planned since the beginning of the new year, and volunteers from Mineral and Sanders County, RSVP, Tribal health staff, Ronan school volunteers, Two Eagle River students and Salish and Kootenai College students contributed to the event. Drills were staged at the Ronan schools to inform students of what to do in such an emergency, said community health nurse for the Tribal Health Department Teri Robison.

“We couldn’t have pulled this off without all the volunteers,” Robison said, adding that more than 80 volunteers staged influenza and that in a real-life situation the patient flow into a Mass Clinic would be somewhere around 300 per hour. Robison also went on to thank the different entities of the Tribal police and fish and game divisions.

Saint Luke Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center also benefited from the event, along with various fire, emergency and law enforcement personnel involved throughout the county.

“It was a learning situation for us,” said St. Luke communication education coordinator Wayne Fuchs, adding that when two ambulances came to the hospital at one time the health team had to act fast. “It was a good thing for us. You never know what is expected of you until you have your feet put to the fire.”

St. Joseph Chief executive officer Michael Piper said he was pleased with the doctors who participated in the exercise, and said the emergency department was able to stabilize all patients within 45 minutes.

“Because of our efforts, our hospital is better prepared to tackle tough health problems with our community response partners,” Piper said.