TORRINGTON – While the potential implications of Monday’s eclipse remain to be seen, Community Hospital in Torrington is ready to address any medical situation that arises.
Banner Health has several hospitals either in the eclipse’s path, or along interstates and highways that lead to prime viewing areas, including Torrington, Worland, Wheatland, Ogallala, Neb. and Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Sterling and Brush, Colo.
A team of Banner Health emergency managers and other leaders have met regularly since January in preparation for the event.
“We’ve been looking at all possible scenarios since basically the start of the year,” said Mike Huntington, emergency management supervisor at Community Hospital in Torrington. “(Including) how likely a scenario is and how devastating it could be. Although we might not have something visibly in place for a specific scenario, it’s in the back of our minds how to take care of the situation.”
Community Hospital Chief Operating Officer Sandy Dugger said planning for the eclipse began a year ago, with specific drills starting in January.
“We do emergency preparedness all the time,” she said. “How to handle a surge of patients, various drills – we really try to be prepared for whatever could happen all
the time.”
Huntington has been very involved with county gatherings, as well as statewide and regional meetings about the eclipse.

“The meetings have offered pretty good information, as far understanding what (the eclipse’s) impacts may be,” Dugger said.
“(The planning) has expanded my own network and resources for emergency management,” Huntington added.
An example of the drills hospital staff have participated in or trained for include preparing for a shortage of nurses and equipment, an influx of patients, retinal burns (due to incorrect eclipse viewing) and more.
The hospital also has an incident command structure in place to ensure quality patient care and minimize stress for staff members.
“We implement our incident command if we determine we need to do that,” Dugger said. “The structure centers around limiting impact to patients, support at different levels, and providing different resources to the staff.”
Banner Health will offer extended hours at its clinics in Torrington, Wheatland and Guernsey
this weekend.
The additional hours will provide patients, both local and travelers, with the option to seek medical care for non-emergent issues at a local clinic rather than the emergency department, according to a press release. This will help to manage the volume in the emergency department and allow ER staff to care for the emergent and critical patients.
“We do so much outside-of-the-box planning year round, when we get close to game time, and if people start … leaning toward the panic, we need to remind them we have everything in place. It’s not too out of ordinary, because we have the training,” Huntington said. “(During the event) we want to maintain the high quality of care we have for our regular patients, and not turn anybody away who has a need.”
Dugger said one of the highlights in preparing for the eclipse is the opportunity to work closely with businesses, agencies and individuals in the community.
“We have identified staffing needs and backup support systems, and we are partnering close with Torrington EMS (emergency medical services), and providing some first-responder stations which include drinks, sandwiches and snacks,” she said. “I think one of the neat things I see with this particular event, because we are able to pre-plan for it, is community involvement at all levels, to include emergency management, businesses and citizens is very unique from what we’ve
seen before.”
The hospital also has an interpreter system available – a tool it’s offered for years – should an individual who does not speak English need medical assistance.
“We really feel like we’re ready,” Dugger said. “Now it’s just the anticipation of when is the traffic going to start to (increase), and how many people are going
to come?”