United Memorial Medical Center held a Code Amber drill on Dec. 29 at the main hospital facility on North Street in Batavia. The mock scenario involved a 10-year-old child who walked away from her patient room under the premise that she did not want to have surgery.
Kaylee MacIntyre, a fifth grader at Alexander Central School and her mother, Stacy Wirth, volunteered to portray the missing child and worried mother. The drill was not announced to the hospital staff prior to the actual event. The child’s absence was noticed immediately and in order to test the hospital’s emergency protocols, the drill was allowed to proceed.
United Memorial frequently holds drills to test its emergency preparedness and assess the readiness of staff if a real incident occured. This event was held in collaboration with the City of Batavia Police Department, which responded to the call and assessed the efforts of the facility in carrying out lockdown and search efforts. Video monitoring of public-access areas was beneficial in tracking the path of departure used by the child and the response of staff in search efforts. The drill also allowed the hospital to test its radio operations.
UMMC apologizes for any inconvenience the drill process may have caused visitors, and hopes they understand the importance of practicing and drilling for possible emergency situations. The safety of patients, staff and visitors is a priority for the organization. Additional drills are held throughout the year pertaining to fire, evacuation, contamination, and multiple casualties.
