The Saber City disaster preparedness (DP) team wanted to coordinate a mock terrorist attack to study the effectiveness of their disaster management plan. The goal of the mock attack was to promote confidence, develop skills, coordinate activities, and coordinate participants of the disaster management team. The DP team planned an attack commonly seen with a terrorist attack: a bus carrying important politicians would explode outside the federal courthouse in downtown Saber. All participating organizations (including the health department, hospital, police department, and fire department) were notified of the date the mock attack would be held. Volunteers were found to play the victims found on the scene.
After months of planning, the day of the mock attack came. The members of the DP team watched how well the organizations worked together during the events of the mock attack. At noon, reports of an exploded bus in front of the courthouse came across police scanners: “Several people are dead and many more injured.” Emergency medical response teams and hazardous material response crews were called to the scene to care for the injured and attend to the potential hazardous exposure. Policemen quickly cleared the area of people and established a barrier around the scene. Firefighters put out the burning bus. From the mock attack, the DP team learned that the city of Saber was prepared for a terrorist attack. Communication between organizations flowed smoothly, and the DP team was skillful in controlling the situation. Participants in the mock attack stated they were happy to have the practice and felt more confident in their skills to provide care in the case of a major disaster.
Now answer the following four questions (organize your paper by writing the question in bold, followed by your response in regular type and triage clients by first, second, third):
1. In which stage of disaster management is the city of Saber?
2. You are a nurse called to the scene of the mock disaster. Triage the following clients you see at the disaster site (each one is tagged differently):
60-year-old man with a broken wrist and a history of heart disease and asthma
30-year-old woman with “road burn” abrasions