The 15-bed hospital is in Panguitch, Utah, a town of only 1,500 residents. On the morning of Sept. 20, Garfield Memorial leaders learned that a bus transporting 30 Chinese tourists crashed near the hospital, killing four people and severely injuring more than a dozen others.
Leaders immediately texted off-duty employees to come to work and notified larger nearby hospitals of the situation.
The hospital, which typically treats up to nine emergency patients daily, ended up treating 19 victims, many of whom had critical injuries. Garfield Memorial leaders said it was the largest influx of severely injured patients in the hospital’s history.
Eleven patients were transferred to larger hospitals. At least eight patients have since been treated and released.
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