MINNEAPOLIS — Agencies in Hennepin County train together with dispatch, EMS, police and fire to help prepare them to better respond when there’s the potential for people being hurt.
What about the people that need help? How prepared is Hennepin Healthcare to handle multiple patients at once? And what about the medical examiner’s office? Senior Investigative Reporter Jennifer Mayerle explores what’s in place should the unthinkable happen here.
Any given day, first responders rush patients to the emergency department at Hennepin Healthcare.
The level one trauma center does drills to get ready for the unknown disaster, surging the ED with patients, played by high school students.
“We like to talk about space, staff and stuff or supplies. So, if we get inundated to the point where it overwhelms our capacities and our capabilities that would result in a mass casualty incident. So anything that would overwhelm us would then activate the mass casualty incident when we pull that lever, we’re bringing in folks from off campus to come support us,” said Seth Jones, Emergency Preparedness Program Manager at Hennepin Healthcare.