LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Large-scale emergencies such as mass shootings, bombings, and natural disasters can flood hospitals with hundreds of patients. To prepare for these events, medical personnel participated in a simulation of what it would be like to work in a hospital during a mass casualty at the University of Michigan–Sparrow Hospital on Thursday.
“So, we just pretended to be some of the people who are involved in the incident,” said Charlotte Werth, a pre-med student at Michigan State University.
“It’s really anything that could happen in a mass casualty, and it’s all thrown at them randomly so they don’t know what to expect,” said Griffin Storr, a Spring Arbor medical student.
Werth and Sterr played victims in the training exercise, which simulated a chemical explosion with on-site medical response and decontamination.
More than 50 volunteers—both students and emergency department staff—simulated a wide variety of injuries for the participants in the exercise.
“Anything ranging from ankle injuries, foreign bodies stuck in arms, or abdominal wounds like cuts,” said Storr.