Disaster Drills Prepare Franciscan St. Margaret Health for the Real Thing

Disaster-drills-prepare-Franciscan-St.-Margaret-Health-for-the-real-thing-01Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer nurses and staff remove patients from the Intensive Care Unit during a hospital Disaster Committee emergency evacuation drill Oct. 14. The scenario involved a small fire that was quickly extinguished on the third-floor unit, but which resulted in heavy smoke and the need to move patients to the second floor until the “all-clear” was given. Valparaiso University nursing students portrayed the patients, who suffered from different maladies that had to be taken into account during the process.

The effort was coordinated by Michael Layman, hospital preparedness manager; and Management Consulting Group, a Chicago-based hospital preparedness agency. Personnel from Chicago area-based American Heritage Protective Services, the hospital’s security provider; and the Dyer Fire Department, also assisted. A similar drill was conducted Oct. 15 at Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Hammond.