Mercy Air enhances readiness with critical response exercise

The Mercy Air 34 air medical team based in Paso Robles, California, recently joined forces with local emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement, fire, and 911 dispatch teams in a mass casualty incident drill at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA).

The one-day training exercise, hosted by California State Parks and developed by State Parks Lifeguard Officer M Do, simulated a critical incident at the dunes involving a multi-vehicle traffic collision with several severe injuries.

“This complex and multi-faceted training brings together our local EMS agencies and improves communications, working relations, and team building,” said Officer Do. “I designed this training scenario to be complicated and chaotic because, in real life, traffic collision scenes are exactly that. Each rescuer plays a vital role in maintaining public safety and saving lives.”

Mercy Air regularly conducts joint training with first responders and local agencies to be prepared for any emergent situation and meet evolving challenges. Training with partner agencies ensures an understanding of best practices in landing zone safety and the logistics of patient safety in transport, whether through ground or air ambulance.

“Each team participating in the drill benefits by having hands-on training to simulate real-time responses to catastrophic events, triaging and stabilizing critical patients,” said Mercy Air Flight Nurse and Base Outreach Coordinator Krysten Daniel. “This allows us to identify any barriers or gaps that may arise and correct them before it has a potential impact on the safety of any patients or the crews responding.

“Where seconds make all the difference in saving a life, trainings like these create a lot of muscle memory so when the call to action is real, we are ready to respond seamlessly and quickly,” Daniel concluded.

Mercy Air recently co-hosted its Southern California Emergency Care Conference.