EIRMC prepares for emergency situations

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center teamed up with Idaho National Laboratories on Thursday to hold a drill in the case of a radiation contamination.

“When we drill, we are testing our capability to handle an influx of patients, often in a critical situation, while still caring for our patients who are here in real time, and in an actual disaster that would be the case,” said Coleen Niemann, director of marketing and community relations at EIRMC.

Thursdays’s drill partnered with The U.S Department of Energy’s Idaho Site, Idaho National Laboratories, Battelle Energy Alliance, and CH2M-WG Idaho (CWI).

Five mock patients were brought to the hospital and treated as if they were injured and contaminated by radioactive waste.

The scenario is very rare, but EIRMC is prepared for these type of situations as they do various drills throughout the year.

EIRMC’s big concern is keeping all patients, regardless if they’re in the emergency situation, cared for-during a disaster.