When word came Wednesday afternoon at Albert Lea Medical Center that there had been a tour bus crash on Interstate 90, an “automatic gear” switched into place for medical center employees, said ALMC Nursing Supervisor Linda Ferguson.

Ferguson said the call about the rollover came around the same time as a shift change, so there were plenty of people on hand to help.

She said she and the staff had no idea how many patients they were going to get and had initially planned for 10. She notified every department that might have to be involved — including the lab, X-Ray and nursing staff — and by the time the patients arrived, a page went out that ALMC’s emergency plan was going in place.

“We’ve practiced this; we’ve had drills,” Ferguson said. “We’ve had disasters before.”

She just needed to make sure everyone was where they needed to be and that necessary equipment was there, too, she said.

Not to mention there were all of the regular emergency room patients as well.

“I think you just go into an automatic gear,” Ferguson said. “We’ve drilled for this a number of times. People were ready, and their adrenaline kicked in.”

It turned out there were six bus passengers that were brought to ALMC for treatment.

The passengers were returning from a day trip to Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa, when the bus they were riding in crossed a median, went over the westbound lanes of traffic and landed on its right side in the north ditch three miles west of Austin.

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Ferguson described the patients who came into ALMC as being fairly calm. Most had contusions, abrasions or lacerations. They were all alert and were able to give their medical histories and answer the other questions asked of them.

She complimented the ambulance and emergency crews who took care of the passengers before they arrived at the hospital.

“The community really needs to realize what a wonderful system we have in this area for emergency care and hospital care,” Ferguson said.

She estimated between 50 and 75 emergency care workers were at the site of the crash on Wednesday.