By Healthcare Facilities Today

The more failures the better at the Harrisburg Medical Center disaster drill, according to an article on the The Southern Illinoisan website.

Coping with the unexpected and finding the weak spots is the point, said hospital CEO and President Rodney Smith in the article.

“We push it until it fails,” he said.

The drill was followed an evaluation, including determination of where improvements may be needed. A failure during a drill does not necessarily mean the hospital is unprepared for a disaster. Just the opposite is true, Smith said.

When a 2012 tornado struck, it ripped apart the hospital’s south wall and caused damage under the foundation. Between 40 and 55 people with wide-ranging but serious injuries needed a variety of care, according to the article.

Doctors and nurses unaffiliated with the hospital arrived to help. A command center was set up in the hospital’s morgue and hospital operations did not stop thanks to emergency preparedness, Smith said.

“That’s why we were able to do as well as we did during the tornado. It was all business that day. They knew what they had to do and they did it,” Smith said.

Read the article.