April 5 test exercise allowed for mock mass patient evacuation scenario

The Northwest Healthcare Response Network conducted a 4-hour, no-notice exercise last Thursday, April 5 and Swedish was one of three local hospitals who participated. The Puget Sound Coalition Surge Test exercise allowed us to practice a mass patient evacuation. The exercise was designed to measure our ability to work collaboratively during a simulated evacuation of 20% of our region’s acute-care hospital bed capacity. There was no actual movement of patients, but the exercise allowed us to test our systems and ability to respond to a large-scale patient surge.