Dr. John Dobson and Mrs. Sarah Jeffreys examine a patient brought to the
first floor dining room. Dr. Dobson is writing orders for the care of the patient
on the patient’s tag.
Again
toiitial one for explosions. In
dustrial explosions could occur
at Erwin Mills and the Ameri
can Tobacco Company. Explo
sions cotdd occur in laboratories
at Liggett and Myers, here at
Duke, and at the Research Tri
angle Park.
Ilurricans can come at any
time, bringing devastation with
them. It was not long ago that
“Hazel” did ji;st that.
It is not impossible that some
summer night, in the midst of a
ball game, the bleachers could
collapse in the Durham Ball
Park.
There are numerous nursing
homes in the area, and each is
subject to the dangers of fire.
University dormitories are sub-
■iect to the same.
It is anticipated that—at the
most—only fifty people w^ould
require emergency treatment at
Duke due to a natural disaster,
but fifty is a large number when
you add to it the human ele
ments of fright, confusion, pain,
and impatience.
It is to prejiare itself for the
possibilities of the above disas
ters, that Duke Medical ("enter
every year conducts a s\irprise
disaster drill.
The drill is under the direc
tion of the medical center’s
ilEXI) Committee (Jledical
Kducation for National De
fense), a committee of twelve
which is responsible for han
dling both natural and nuclear
disasters.
This year the bleachers col
lapsed in the university ball
park, and over seventy disaster
“victims” (medical and nursing
students) were brought in uni
versity trucks to the emergency
rooms at Duke Hospital and the
VA, which was also cooperating
iu the exercise.
In the first floor dining room further
sorting is done and other treatment is
begun. These girls are being treated
for sliock.
In the Duke Emergency Room,
two medical primary sorting of
ficers were on hand to help the
ER staff differentiate between
minor and major injuries. The
“victims” were tagged with
cards on which registrars noted
each victim's name, where he
was to be sent, and his assigned
patient number. Any life-sav
ing emergency care was given.
Those pronounced dead on ar
rival were taken to the morgue.
Survivors were taken—by
stretchers and wheel chairs from
the ER to the first floor dining
room, where further sorting (by
degree and type of injury sus
tained) was done and other treat
ment was begun. From this
area, many were sent to other
areas where treatment needed
was available (e.g. Surgical
OPD, the OR, etc.).
Closed-cireuit television cam
eras, connected with a television
set in the office of the adminis
trative director, were used for
on-the-spot evaluation of the
drill.
During the drill, fifty-four
])eople were processed through
the PjUiergency Room in sixty-
five minutes. It took from 2 :10
to 4:00 P.il. to sort the cases, to
treat them, and to process cer
tain ones through the OR.
“It was the smoothest and the
best organized drill that “I’ve
seen,” said Dr. Donald Silver,
chairman of the MEND Com
mittee. who has seen over ten of
the Duke disaster drills.
Dr. Silver further commented
that much credit is due the in-
hospital staff; for he said that
the cooperation given by Nursing
Service, the security police, and
the .supply and messenger people
accounted in large part for the
success of the drill.
Closed-cireuit TV linked with the administrative director’s office makes pos
sible on-tlie-spot evaluation of the drill.
INTERCOM - 7
MAY-JUNE 1966