One team, one mission

A common proverb attributed to Benjamin Franklin says, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

The Greenfield swimming pool staff and local first responders took that phrase seriously last Saturday when they staged a training exercise at the pool.

According to the scenario, a young swimmer, portrayed by 11-year-old Xavier Rubio, went off one of the diving boards on the deep end of the pool, became unresponsive and began to drown.

What the pool staff did not know is that Adair County Health System EMS Manager Chris Roberts, who was orchestrating the drill, planned for the patient’s father, portrayed by Greenfield Fire Chief Curtis Vry, to fall on the pool deck when the commotion began, needing as much medical attention as the boy.

When the young swimmer showed signs of distress and began to drown, lifeguard Matthew Rudolf blew his whistle for everyone to evacuate the pool and an emergency response was initiated. He dove in to save the swimmer with a host of others.

“We’ve done saves before, but this helps us to see what happens when a real situation happens,” Rudolf said.

Vivienne Burnside was at the front desk of the pool when the drill occurred. She was the one who called 911, to get more help on the way, as lifeguards began life-saving measures on the one patient, utilizing chest compressions for CPR and an automated defibrillator on a dummy, as well as first aid on the father character. An AED has the ability to shock a patient’s heart back into rhythm.

“I have called 911 before, but that was a little easier because it was on my cellphone and this was on a landline, and I was nervous that they couldn’t hear me,” Burnside said. “I was also nervous that I wasn’t giving them the right information. I feel like in a real situation I wouldn’t be able to tell if [the patient is responding or unresponsive].”

Vry’s character was transported from the scene by ambulance as if he was going to be flown away by an air ambulance that firefighters asked dispatch for. The younger patient was transported to the hospital with his heart beating again, but still in critical condition.

When it was over, Roberts, local firefighter/EMT Adam Endres and the rest of the first responders talked through the drill with the pool staff. They reviewed what they had just been a part of and talked about what went well, also offering a few small areas where improvement can be made.

Vry said while firefighters, EMS and law enforcement may have slightly unique functions within an emergency response, they always seem to work together seamlessly.

Roberts summed it up as “one team, one mission.”

“There are some specific hats that have to be worn. When we told them we were going to have to fly that patient out and we were going to take the other to the hospital, it takes some people securing a landing zone, looking for overhead power lines and other risks for that helicopter coming in, too,” Roberts said. “Everyone naturally goes to their role. That’s something that we noticed with the pool staff too — they have a very good plan already and they exercised it this morning. They did a very good job!”

From the time the call went out to the time the more critical patient was being transported was about 15 minutes. Robert congratulated all involved, saying that’s a realistic time frame.

In her second season as pool manager, Erin Rhoads expressed how well she thought all the lifeguards did. There are a dozen lifeguards this year, and a few mentioned before the drill they’re considering working at the pool again next summer.

“When Adam told me the scenario last Wednesday, I decided to do a training day. On Tuesday we did a training, but I didn’t tell the guards exactly what was happening,” Rhoads said. “I made sure they knew what was going on if there were a serious injury and I think that really carried over to today. We did a couple more saves Tuesday to prep for this and I think they did well.”

Greenfield Fire Department, Adair County Ambulance, Greenfield Police Department and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office all participated in this drill.

The American Heart Association reports cardiac arrest most often occurs in homes, followed by public settings and nursing homes. If performed immediately, CPR can double or triple the chance of survival from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

The AHA also says only about 40% of people who experience cardiac arrest somewhere other than a hospital get the help they need before professional help arrives.

“We started about 10:59 today and by 11:01 they had called 911 and started CPR. That’s about as quickly as we can get them out of the pool and start,” Roberts said. “For anybody about teenage and above and into adulthood, even if we don’t breathe for them, the act of just pumping their heart is very important to keeping that blood flow going so we can hopefully give a life-saving shock with a defibrillator.”

While Iowa has a law that covers Good Samaritans who do CPR and aren’t certified, Roberts said residents can contact him at Adair County Health System for more information about becoming certified. Between the hospital, local fire departments and law enforcement, there are several instructors in the area.