WEBVTT 00:00.201 --> 00:02.868 (intense music) 00:09.434 --> 00:11.339 - [Narrator] US Army Medical Department activity, 00:11.339 --> 00:14.190 Fort Stewart, provided an atmosphere for soldiers 00:14.190 --> 00:17.422 and civilians to train and prepare for a natural disaster. 00:17.422 --> 00:19.976 - And the purpose of this exercise was this to train, 00:19.976 --> 00:22.428 allow us to do critical thinking 00:22.428 --> 00:24.911 ^and assess where we are so we can continue 00:24.911 --> 00:26.853 ^to be a learning organization and grow 00:26.853 --> 00:28.668 ^and adapt to those challenges. 00:28.668 --> 00:30.179 - [Narrator] Winn Army Community Hospital 00:30.179 --> 00:32.229 and outlying medic facilities, 00:32.229 --> 00:36.203 participated in a vertical evacuation exercise, April 21st. 00:36.203 --> 00:38.185 - As we saw with Hurricane Matthew last year, 00:38.185 --> 00:40.740 what this facility needs to be prepared 00:40.740 --> 00:43.038 to respond to a major disaster 00:43.038 --> 00:45.818 and we need to ensure that we're able to both 00:45.818 --> 00:48.741 protect our staff and our patients that are here, 00:48.741 --> 00:50.785 but also be primed and ready to support 00:50.785 --> 00:52.891 this community at the same time. 00:52.891 --> 00:55.323 - [Narrator] In the vertical evacuation scenario, 00:55.323 --> 00:57.971 an F4 tornado collided with wind facilities, 00:57.971 --> 00:59.967 causing extensive damage to the 00:59.967 --> 01:01.771 front south side of the hospital. 01:01.771 --> 01:03.359 As the result of the destruction, 01:03.359 --> 01:06.414 all elevators and main line communications were disabled. 01:06.414 --> 01:09.132 ^- We had no falls, we had no network. 01:09.132 --> 01:11.270 - [Narrator] The only option was to utilize 01:11.270 --> 01:13.491 the emergency stairwell to move patients 01:13.491 --> 01:15.411 from the mother baby labor and deliver unit 01:15.411 --> 01:17.411 in DM patient care pool. 01:17.626 --> 01:19.647 ^- We prepped the babies for transport 01:19.647 --> 01:21.149 ^while we were moving the moms 01:21.149 --> 01:22.699 ^and prepping them for transport. 01:22.699 --> 01:24.804 - [Narrator] Mulkey is a member of the mother baby team, 01:24.804 --> 01:28.132 who had to move five patients via the emergency stairwell. 01:28.132 --> 01:30.086 The team was evaluated for the cred 01:30.086 --> 01:32.536 to utilization of the evacuation slide. 01:32.536 --> 01:34.746 A form of extraction device used to transport 01:34.746 --> 01:38.100 critical patients as well as the equipment invested. 01:38.100 --> 01:40.550 - We have to be ready to be adaptable leaders 01:40.550 --> 01:43.126 who can critically think, assess the situation, 01:43.126 --> 01:45.082 understand what's going on and then, 01:45.082 --> 01:48.987 execute changes and responses to that changing environment. 01:48.987 --> 01:51.024 - [Narrator] One of the obstacles of the path 01:51.024 --> 01:52.810 of the mother baby and ICW teams 01:52.810 --> 01:55.550 was the complete destruction of the emergency room. 01:55.550 --> 01:59.050 This scenario provided a de-moralizing hurdle to overcome, 01:59.050 --> 02:01.440 because one of the infants needed the incubator 02:01.440 --> 02:03.986 which was damaged when the IR was hit by the tornado. 02:03.986 --> 02:05.649 At the point where the IR was gone, 02:05.649 --> 02:08.612 there was really nothing more we can do with the incubator 02:08.612 --> 02:11.709 than what we were already doing during transport. 02:11.709 --> 02:13.939 - [Narrator] Gloria Slawitsky, a registered nurse 02:13.939 --> 02:15.760 in the mother baby unit, was the nurse 02:15.760 --> 02:17.767 in charge of transporting the infant. 02:17.767 --> 02:19.768 ^- This baby already had tempered stability, 02:19.768 --> 02:22.521 ^plus had low blood sugar, so this baby was 02:22.521 --> 02:25.360 really working hard on its energy resources as is. 02:25.360 --> 02:28.386 So, in order to get this baby to a safe area, 02:28.386 --> 02:31.428 we needed to act fast, but we needed to act smart. 02:31.428 --> 02:33.548 - [Narrator] Slawitsky and Major Nurisa Jackson 02:33.548 --> 02:36.441 took precautions to provide a nurturing environment 02:36.441 --> 02:38.837 for the newborn, utilizing an oxygen tank. 02:38.837 --> 02:41.479 These measures help to ensure that his oxygen levels 02:41.479 --> 02:43.654 did not fall to a lower rate, which would 02:43.654 --> 02:45.581 cause ocular damage to the baby. 02:45.581 --> 02:48.218 Even though, each scenario had its complications, 02:48.218 --> 02:51.108 both the NCU and ICW were able to extract 02:51.108 --> 02:54.379 eight patients from the damaged military treatment facility, 02:54.379 --> 02:56.568 completing all of the objectives 02:56.568 --> 02:57.825 put in place by the exercise. 02:57.825 --> 03:00.614 From Winn, an army community hospital public base, 03:00.614 --> 03:02.197 I'm Zach Rehnstrom. 03:02.272 --> 03:05.022 (dramatic music)