UD’s Emergency Care Unit joins in disaster drill

11:32 a.m., Nov. 11, 2004--Members of the University of Delaware Emergency Care Unit (UDECU) teamed up with Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Co. and other local fire and emergency units for a disaster drill on Wednesday, Nov. 3, in Newark.

The third annual mock drill challenged responders to handle a multivehicle accident involving a large number of seriously injured persons.

Taking on the role of the injured drivers, passengers and potential patients trapped in the vehicles were 24 volunteers, including UD students, as well as area Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

The scene, which included a half-dozen crumpled vehicles, with several overturned, simulated an accident that, for purposes of the drill, would have occurred at the intersection of Route 896 and Four Seasons Parkway.

While fumes from portable generators powering rescue equipment filled the chilly early evening air, the glare of floodlights from an Aetna rescue vehicle illuminated the efforts of emergency responders as they performed triage, stabilizing the scene and setting priorities for accessing vehicles and treating victims. Also on the scene were proctors from outside organizations evaluating the performance of the units involved.

“It was absolutely incredible,” UDECU member Ross Cohen, AS ’05, said. “The drill was very useful. You don’t want to think about things like this happening, but you have to be prepared for the worst so you can do your best.”

Cohen, who began his involvement in emergency care as a youth corps member of his local fire company in Suffern, N.Y., said that it really helped that Aetna had made the disaster scene as realistic as possible.

“When you are involved as a responder, you see things from a totally different angle,” Cohen said. “One of the most important reasons for making these drills as realistic as possible is that it allows you to think and plan ahead, and hopefully, as a result of such training, you know what to do when you are involved in such a situation.”

Mount Laurel, N.J., resident and UDECU member Steve Snow, BE 07, also said that because of the realistic nature of the setting, the mock disaster was a great training experience.

“As the UDECU technician on the scene, I became the transportation officer and was responsible for seeing that all of the ambulances were properly positioned and that all the patients were properly removed from the scene and taken to area hospitals,” Snow said. “Another part of my job was to call the area hospitals and see how many patients they could take.”

Paul Spechler, CHNS ’06, also participated in the disaster drill as the UDECU team member assigned to treat victims once members of the rescue units had completed their tasks of popping off car doors and cutting off vehicle roofs.

“I was responsible for getting victims from the cars to the treatment area and then to prepare them for transport,” Spechler said. “I starting giving patients primary care after the rescue squad members had made the victims accessible.”

Spechler, who was considering a career in health care when he arrived at UD, joined UDECU to find out if he really enjoyed providing patient care. A certified EMT in New Jersey and Delaware, Spechler also works as an emergency department technician at Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He said he hopes to attend medical school and continue in emergency medicine.

“I joined the unit during the spring semester of my freshman year to get experience with treating patients,” Spechler said. “I’m a junior now, and I developed a passion for emergency medicine. I never knew that I would grow to love emergency medical services work as much as I do.”

Jack Lynn, an investigator in UD’s Department of Public Safety and adviser to the UDECU for 28 years, said that the unit responds to everything from car accidents to cardiac arrests, while providing standby emergency coverage at events ranging from NASCAR races in Dover to Commencement and concerts on UD’s Newark campus.

“The unit responded to 139 incidents in September of this year alone,” Lynn said. “This is not counting football and men’s basketball games, as well as events such as the Delaware State Fair in Harrington and Community Day in Newark.”

Lynn said becoming part of the 50-member UDECU unit is a highly selective process that involves a commitment of nearly 150 hours of classroom training, as well as accompanying ambulance crews during actual emergency situations. He also said that candidates are required to pass rigorous state and national certification examinations.

Besides responding to medical emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the UDECU ambulance is staffed with a minimum of two Delaware state emergency medical technicians at all times. Members provide assistance to fire and rescue units such as Aetna and Singerly Fire Company in Elkton, Md. Last summer, UDECU also served as a stand-by unit for the Mill Creek Fire Company, Lynn said.

“They also devote an untold number of hours in training, and they have to pass a really tough test,” Lynn said. “They really perform a valuable service for UD and the community.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Kevin Tucker

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