Another year, another successful Minimum Staffing Drill by Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) staff and volunteers.
Coordinated by TBRHSC’s Emergency Preparedness and Interprofessional Education teams, and in partnership with Thunder Bay Fire Rescue (TBFR), this annual Hospital-wide drill is mandated by the Ontario Fire Code. Also known as our Code Red to Green Drill, it tests the Hospital’s ability to safely evacuate an in-patient unit during hours with minimum staffing levels. Every year the drill focuses on a different area of the Hospital to enhance these capabilities.
“Practicing our emergency response in this realistic way is one important piece in our organization’s ability to maintain a state of readiness,” states Mēsha Richard, Emergency Preparedness Lead at TBRHSC.
This year, the drill was conducted on 1B (Paediatrics), with conditions adjusted to replicate times of minimum staffing. More than twenty volunteers acted as mock patients and their family members, with cribs and baby dolls used to simulate moving the smallest patients on that unit. A pre-determined fire alarm in a patient room was activated using simulated smoke, prompting a hospital-wide Code Red (Fire) response. The drill scenario ultimately escalated to a Code Green-Stat (Evacuation). Designated responders quickly arrived from across the Hospital as soon as the overhead announcement was made.
The team’s drill response was evaluated and timed by TBFR.
“Thank you for asking Volunteers to participate in this event!” shares one volunteer. “This was an interesting learning experience and I certainly see the value in requiring these drills. They help staff feel more knowledgeable and confident in an actual occurrence. I appreciate being involved and hope to participate again in the future.”
“This exercise is really about teamwork and preparing for unexpected but possible events,” explains Richard. “A big thank you to our staff and volunteers, as well as our partner TBFR, for their continued participation and commitment to emergency preparedness at TBRHSC. 2024 marks the ten year anniversary of this requirement and we’ve been successful in completing it every year. That’s something to be proud of!”
For more information on emergency preparedness at TBRHSC please visit the Emergency Preparedness and Security departmental webpage https://informed.tbrhsc.net/departments/emergency-preparedness-and-security/emergency-prep.
