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On March 10, senior students at the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing at Pittsburg State all worked together during a natural disaster simulation. This training event was organized by both Pittsburg State and local medical and law enforcement groups. The scenario was that a microburst storm had just hit University Lake and Gorilla Village, and the nursing students were placed into the role of real-life Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs,) medics, and other professionals to assess the conditions of the victims- made up of a combination of training dummies and Pittsburg State students and staff playing the parts of victims- and perform the necessary life-saving measures, from moving them to rescue vehicles to bandaging wounds to simply reuniting them with their loved ones.
Stu Hite, the Chief of the Pittsburg State University Police and a commissioner for the City of Pittsburg, was there to help oversee that everything went smoothly despite the circumstances of the simulation.
“As Law Enforcement, we also were there to make sure everyone was safe and that people passing by didn’t get concerned by seeing random “patients/victims” scattered around the area. Some of them look real from a distance,” commented Hite. Aside from law enforcement, the Pittsburg Fire Department and Crawford County EMT were present to help the students transport the victims. The crew of the HealthStar One, a rescue helicopter based out of Overland Park, Kansas, was there to assist in the simulation.
At 9:30 that morning, the nursing students and staff began briefing themselves inside of McPherson Hall about what was to potentially be seen in the field. During that time, the HealthStar One helicopter landed in the grass area near the lake, and the actors and the professionals all got into their places. At 10:00, the nursing students all gathered in the lounge area in the outside part of McPherson Hall to recieve their final orders. Then, it was time for them to explore the scene.
The training dummies and human actors were scattered all across University Lake, Gorilla Village, and areas near McPherson Hall. One of the training dummies was found stuck in a tree missing its legs. Another was found inside one of the covered picnic areas in Gorilla Village, identified as a burn victim from the storm. Elsewhere, the living actors were playing the parts of survivors who also needed attention. One of those actors was Melody Holt, a junior nursing major.
“I was a little nervous just to see how the seniors would react. I know the last group said it was pretty chaotic, but I thought all of the seniors did well,” Holt claimed. Holt played the role of a 38-week pregnant woman with preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related disorder that affects blood vessels, and can be potentially fatal if untreated.
While this event was only a simulation, disasters like this, both natural and manmade, can happen at a moment’s notice, and it’s up to first responders to make sure they save all they lives they can, a sentiment shared by Brennan Hodapp, a senior nursing major who served as a triage coordinator throughout the simulation.
“I feel as though this has given me a better understanding as to how disaster situations can be managed, and truly how you can never fully be prepared for what can happen around you. As someone who is moving to Kansas City right when the world cup is starting, I know how realistic this scenario is. But the training that the hospitals, fire departments, and police have been participating in has shown me that even if we cannot fully prepare for a mass casualty situation, we can come together and handle anything.”
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