BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Months ago, a school bus crash was just a drill at a local hospital. Tuesday it was a reality.
When two Kings Local School District buses collided on Kings Island Drive, injuring about 75 students, agencies and hospitals activated disaster plans to coordinate the emergency.
Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery, which received about half of the students who were treated at five hospitals for minor injuries, enacted its disaster plan to handle the unusually heavy load, and reaped the benefits of its frequent drills.
Before the first patient arrived, about 20 nurses and four physicians had responded to the call, said Jeff Blunt, media coordinator for Tri-Health, which includes Bethesda North, Bethesda Oak, Bethesda Warren County and Good Samaritan hospitals.
"Things went very smoothly," Mr. Blunt said. ""We did this exact drill a few months ago -- a bus crash with children in it. We drill repeatedly for such incidents, and they really pay off. Everyone responded per the plan and everything was handled extremely efficiently. The EMS crews did a tremendous job."
The plan has been activated four or five times in the past five years at Bethesda North, which has one of the busiest emergency departments in Ohio, Mr. Blunt said.
"This accident today had the potential to be very serious. Had it been, we would have been ready," he said. Bethesda Warren County treated 15 students, and also initiated its disaster plan, he said.
The accident caused the Hamilton County Disaster Council Radio Network disaster plan to be activated, resulting in notification of hospitals and various support agencies, said Andrew Knapp, communications supervisor for the Hamilton County Communications Center, the network control.
The network, made up of Tristate hospitals and support agencies linked by a common radio channel, coordinates emergency rescue functions between field units and hospitals.
Students also were taken to Mercy Hospital Fairfield, Jewish Kenwood and Children's Hospital Medical Center, where internal emergency plans were activated or staff was put on alert. The children suffered only bumps and bruises and were treated and released by early afternoon.
