There had been a magnitude-7.9 earthquake and a tsunami watch was underway. Twenty patients arrived at the Hilo Medical Center, 12 in critical condition. Triage for the patients began in front of the hospital building.
There had been a magnitude-7.9 earthquake and a tsunami watch was underway. Twenty patients arrived at the Hilo Medical Center, 12 in critical condition. Triage for the patients began in front of the hospital building.
Once inside the emergency room, the patients lay on beds waiting to be tended. Some checked their phones, others said hello to passers-by. “I’m unconscious, though,” one clarified.
The Thursday emergency simulation was part of the biennial Rim of the Pacific military exercises, an international maritime training initiative involving 27 nations.
The RIMPAC exercise takes place once every two years. It began June 30 and continues through Aug. 5. This week, hospitals across the islands are participating.
“They wrote the scenario, and we modified it to fit our needs,” HMC chief nursing officer Arthur Sampaga said.
That meant responding to a disaster scenario requiring coordination between groups such as the hospitals (North Hawaii and Kona hospitals also participate), emergency response departments, and Hawaii County Civil Defense.
The “earthquake” was announced at 9 a.m. Department heads set up an Incident Command Center, where they began entering information
Taking in 20 emergency patients at once is about the maximum load that could be handled by HMC.
“Any more, and it would really stretch our system,” Sampaga said.
Training exercises involved all of the hospital’s medical residents, some of whom are just a few weeks into their tenure.
“It’s a good learning experience, because they will be called (in emergency situations),” said residency program faculty member Kehau Kong.
Kong lay on a bed, face ashen (actually a horror-film-worthy makeup job) and with her “eyes” (actually a pair of safety goggles with two homemade eyeballs protruding) bulging out of her head.
One medical resident had come in to take stock of the situation, and “I could hear the wheels turning in her head,” Kong said. The eye condition required transport off-island.
At 10:30 a.m., U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters were requested to bring the patients to hospital facilities on Oahu.
“Statewide, we’ve got to care for our own,” Sampaga said.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.