Mobile County Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition participates in Burn Surge Exercise
April 14, 2022
Mobile County Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition participates in Burn Surge Exercise
MOBILE, Ala. — On Tuesday, April 12, the Mobile County Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition (MCHERC) participated in the Health and Human Services Burn Surge Exercise. This was a statewide exercise that only excluded two public health districts as they chose to do a separate exercise.
The exercise was from noon to 4 p.m. It took place in person at the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency (MCEMA) and virtually by way of the Zoom video platform. Members of the MCHERC that participated included hospitals, public health, MCEMA, and mental health facilities.
Erin Coker, the Emergency Preparedness administrator for the Mobile County Health Department, said three modules were discussed. She added many lessons learned will be incorporated into the local MCHERC Burn Surge Annex.
The annex is a planning tool for members of the MCHERC to utilize in the event we have a large influx of patients that have sustained varying degrees of burns. These burns could range from chemical to radiological to something obtained from a building fire.
The MCHERC was also able to obtain valuable information from the local subject matter experts that are located at the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center that also has a burn unit, University Hospital. With this valuable information, the MCHERC is looking into providing a burn kit to all hospitals that will contain the basic supplies needed to treat a burn patient.
With the minimal amount of burn beds in the state of Alabama, this exercise and planning opportunity has been beneficial in preparing other hospitals for the possibility of receiving burn patients.
Along with Ms. Coker, the members of MCHD’s team include Brittany Edmondson, the Emergency Preparedness nurse; Latosia Turnbough, the Healthcare Coalition coordinator; and Katy Stembridge, the Program Administrative Support Specialist.