Blackhawk emergency drill at Sutter Roseville
By: Anne Stokes, Press Tribune Correspondent
Mock victim and pilot Brandon Lynch of the National Guard waits his turn to be transported to the Sutter Roseville Hospital ER, while Rocklin firefighter Chris Wade and Roseville firefighter Erik Winblad carry another mock victim away from the emergency drill site at the hospital’s helipad.
Sgt. First Class Thomas Gifford with the National Guard gets mock victim Dee Vieira of Sutter’s Rehabilitation Institute during an emergency drill at Sutter Roseville Hospital.
Roseville firefighter Erik Winblad prepares the jaws of life to cut a mock victim out of a medical Blackhawk helicopter during a statewide emergency medical and health disaster exercise at Sutter Roseville Hospital.
Rocklin Fire Captain Robert Molinaro, center, firefighter Chris Wade, left, and National Guard Sgt. First class Thomas Gifford attend to mock victim Jeanine Owens, an RN at Sutter Roseville Hospital, during an emergency medical and health disaster exercise at Sutter Roseville.
Engineer Jason Boyer with the Rocklin Fire Department attends to mock victim Jeanine Owens, an RN at Sutter Roseville Hospital, during an emergency medical and health disaster exercise at Sutter Roseville.
Sutter Roseville Medical Center’s helipad was the site of an emergency drill Thursday morning. Sponsored by the California Department of Health and the Emergency Medical Services Authority, the 2012 Statewide Medical and Health Functional Exercise helped to prepare first responders and hospital staff to react during a catastrophic disaster. On hand were the Roseville and Rocklin fire departments, American Medical Response, and members of the California National Guard, all of whom worked together to treat several mock victims of a medical Blackhawk helicopter crash.
“We’re hoping (participants) get great experience out of this,” said Erik Angle, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and RN at Sutter Roseville. “It’s better to learn in practice, to prepare in case the scenario actually happens.”
“We are the only hospital in the Sacramento Valley that can land a medical Blackhawk on a helipad,” added Angle. “We’re very proud to work closely with our community partners to test this kind of worst-case-scenario.”