Lansing — Surgical masks clung to dozens of bird flu victims aboard a blazing hot school bus Friday afternoon.
Some were headed to Sparrow Hospital, others to Ingham County Regional Medical Center. Although they were supposed to be in a fight for their lives, many of the soon-to-be hospital patients loosened their masks and relaxed in friendly conversation with fellow travelers during the 20-minute bus ride.
They weren't worried. They weren't really sick. They were just part of a nine-county bioterrorism mock emergency involving a fake outbreak of the disease.
The exercise, organized by the District 1 Regional Medical Response Coalition, involved a basic run-through of what should happen if an epidemic, like bird flu, SARS, or biochemical warfare, hit the Lansing area, said Chris Hagist, assistant volunteer coordinator for the coalition.
"We need to get these resources and get them to the people," Hagist said.
Volunteers were given orange volunteer cards that either listed fake symptoms or no symptoms at all. They were then transported by bus from the initial gathering area and acute care center of Harry Hill Auditorium, 5815 Wise Road, to Gardner Middle School, 333 Dahlia Drive, the designated Neighborhood Emergency Health Center. There, volunteers acted out their symptoms and a distinction was made between who needed help and who didn't.
Like luggage tags, plastic labels flapped alongside volunteers' wrists indicating four different diagnoses: healthy — a green strip; in need of care, but not urgent — a yellow strip; in need of immediate care — a red strip; and dead — a black strip.
In the parking bay of Sparrow Hospital, 1215 E, Michigan Ave., Melissa Robinson, 25, sat in a wheelchair given to her to accommodate her fake illness. According to her card, Robinson didn't survive the sickness.
"I had difficulty breathing, and I was dipping in and out of consciousness," she said. "I was really anxious and also had arthritis in my legs so it was hard for me to even walk."
Robinson's fellow workers at ClinicPro Software, 1438 N. Hagadorn Road, all decided to participate in the day's exercise. She said she was pleased with the speed and organization of the bioterrorism dramatization.
"I feel like everything will go well because they have a plan," she said. "It makes me feel better. It keeps everyone really calm when it's organized like this."
Although everything seemed to run smoothly, Ira Ginsburg said the exercise would have been better with more "sick" volunteers. Ginsburg, senior vice president of operations for Sparrow, said the hospital has conducted other mock emergencies, but this is the first bioterrorism exercise they have practiced. He said bioterrorism could be harder to deal with than other disasters because there's no definite number of victims.
"This is something that could grow bigger and bigger because it's a communicable disease," he said.
The most recent large-scale incident Sparrow handled was the January 2005 200-car pileup on Interstate 96 that caused two deaths. He said the hospital worked well in response to the accidents.
"We had more victims in that than we do here," he said. "There were 33 or 34 patients in the hospital and they all came within two hours. We had deaths to minor injuries."
A step back from the drama of the triage center, Luis Vazquez scribbled on a large notepad as he evaluated the process at Sparrow. The UAW health and safety specialist said the exercise was going well from what he observed.
"Practicing drills is one of the ways you know your plan works or not," he said. "It's a way of preparing for the worst."
