UCI Health spotlights the importance of water safety through shoreline trauma simulation
Collaboration with the Huntington Beach Fire Department provides learning opportunities to improve patient outcomes
Orange, Calif. — Summer is filled with trips to the beach to escape the heat and cool off in the ocean. While minor cuts, scrapes and sunburns are not uncommon, more serious injuries, such as those to the cervical spine, are possible when surfing and bodyboarding.
To help improve the outcomes of these types of injuries, UCI Health recently collaborated with the Huntington Beach Fire Department and Huntington Beach Fire Department Marine Safety Division on a pediatric shoreline trauma simulation that began at the beach and ended at the UCI Health — Orange emergency department.
"These trauma simulations are very important because they allow us to test our systems with our amazing first responders who bring patients to UCI Health — Orange, our level 1 trauma center,” said Dr. Jeffry Nahmias, a trauma and critical care surgeon and pediatric trauma medical director with UCI Health.
The simulation began when an 11-year-old male, bodyboarding close to shore, lost control of his board, went underwater and surfaced faced down. A bystander noticed and alerted lifeguards, who immediately ran to rescue the child and assess his condition. They radioed for an ambulance. Once it arrived, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) evaluated his condition, placed him on a gurney, and drove him to UCI Health — Orange for care.
When he arrived at the emergency department, Dr. Uma Bagga, a UCI Health trauma surgeon, and her team met him and began the hospital part of the simulation. This included evaluating his condition, and ordering a battery of tests, including a neurological consultation.
Evaluators continuously monitored both portions of the simulation and scored the first responders and clinicians on response time, communication, coordination of care and more.
At the conclusion of the simulation, Huntington Beach first responders and UCI Health clinicians held a debrief to discuss what went right, along with areas of improvement and next steps.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,461-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Health — Orange, its flagship hospital, the UCI Health — Irvine acute care hospital and medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Health — Orange provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).