Disaster Readiness: 3 Stories of Responsiveness and Resilience

Disasters—from wildfires, hurricanes and tornados to flu outbreaks and mass shootings—are unfortunately a part of life. During these difficult times, the benefits of a centralized approach to care emerge—and demonstrate how important planning and regular disaster drills are. This type of preparation is tremendously impactful—especially when mere seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

TeleTracking knows the impact these high-pressure situations have on caregivers—we’ve heard their stories, absorbed their input and developed streamlined workflows and technology solutions to help them with their operations. This comprehensive approach leads to real-time data—and provides the necessary shared awareness for efficiently managing through such critical events.

Three health systems recently had to put what they had done during drills into practice— Kettering Health Network in Dayton, OH; Broward Health in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and University Medical Center in El Paso, TX. John Weimer, Vice President of Emergency and Trauma Services at Kettering Health Network; Justin Willis, Nurse Manager, Centralized Patient Logistics Center at Broward Health; and Jesus Reverol, Industrial Engineer at University Medical Center of El Paso share their experiences.

PFQ: Explain the recent disaster that your hospital/system responded to?

Weimer: We were recently impacted by the mass shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District on August 4th, 2019. The shooter was neutralized by the Dayton police department within 30 seconds, however, there were 40 casualties including nine fatalities, as well as the deceased shooter.

Willis: We were in the forecast cone for Hurricane Dorian, the Category 5 hurricane that stalled over the northern Bahamas in early September. 

Reverol: Mid-morning on Saturday, August 3, 2019, University Medical Center (UMC) received a surge of trauma patients from a mass casualty shooting event, approximately five miles from our campus. An active shooter with an assault rifle opened fire in a Walmart, killing and injuring customers.

This story can be found in the 2021 Command Center Special Edition Volume 1 of TeleTracking's Patient Flow Quarterly Magazine. Download the full issue.