HELENA — Montana continues to rank among the highest in the nation per capita for opioid overdose deaths, but hospitals like St. Peter’s Health are preparing for this surge through life-like simulations.
“We are seeing a really big uptick in medications dropped and laced with unknown substances in the state, so if we can identify that and intervene early, we will have better patient outcomes," said Miley Allzer, an instructor with Simulation in Motion Montana.
(Watch to see how nurses prepare for opioid overdoses)
Simulation in Motion Montana, a statewide non-profit, ran the exercises.
They train people across the area to be ready for a variety of situations, from diseases to overdoses.
The simulation used a life-like pediatric mannequin that can talk, blink, breathe, and cry tears.
Charity Stephens, another instructor, said, "It helps them identify gaps within their systems and also kind of brings things to the forefront that they might not initially think about."
Nurses and doctors from all different departments at St. Peter's, along with EMS personnel and law enforcement officers, ran through the simulations.
The goal, prepare them for what they could see in real life as opioid-related overdoses rise.
"We want to provide the opportunity for people to practice and gain confidence in the skills they need to make the critical and time-sensitive decisions they have to make to best treat these patients in a state as rural and spread out as we are," said Allzer.
