CUMBERLAND — When a hospital opens, there is little room for error. So when the time came to test the services at Cumberland’s new health care facility, hospital officials thought it would be beneficial to have the assistance of some of the nation’s most trusted community service members — the Boy Scouts of America.

On Saturday, more than 100 Boy Scouts and troop leaders from the local Potomac Council and Baltimore Area Council Boy Scouts of America participated in a scheduled mock training day for the new Western Maryland Regional Medical Center scheduled to open Saturday at 6 a.m.

At about 9 a.m., participating Boy Scouts gathered in the hospital’s auditorium where hospital officials gave select Scouts a document listing a scenario to act out for the day, which included a fake patient name, age, date of birth and the specifics of the mock ailment.

Thirteen-year-old Jessie Fazenbaker of the Potomac Council Boy Scout Troop 42 was given the scenario of a 64-year-old patient who was suffering from chest pains and having difficulty breathing.

Acting out his scenario lying on a bed in the Emergency Department, Fazenbaker sat with a smile on his face as a nurse adjusted the pulse oximeter on his finger.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he said while looking at his pulse being monitored on the screen before being carted out of his room to be taken to the Cath Lab — the next location listed on his scenario.

Most of the Boy Scouts participating in Saturday’s mock training day had never been admitted to a hospital before.

“I’ve never been to a hospital before, except for when I was born,” said 15-year-old Ryan Zelinsky of Baltimore Area Council Boy Scout Troop 451, while lying in a bed in the intensive care unit at the hospital.

Zelinsky was playing the role of a 42-year-old patient suffering from hemorrhagic CVA, also known as a stroke, which includes bleeding within the brain.

After going through the appropriate mock testing stages required for his scenario, Zelinsky was taken back to his room in the ICU where he had a chance to get acclimated with the new state-of-the-art technology, including the automated critical care bed in which he was resting.

Before finding his favorite channel on the flat-screen TV that hung in front of him, Zelinsky was serenaded by soft jazz music that came from the speakers on either side of the bed while also getting the chance to test his French-speaking skills. The new automated beds have the ability to play soothing music for patients, weigh them while lying in bed, in addition to asking non-English speaking patients a variety of health-care-related questions in different languages, including French.

While walking down the hallway, Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 451, Dan Licht Jr., checked in on the boys to see how things were going. All the Scouts were in agreement that the day was a great experience for everyone.

Kevin Turley, a vice president at the Western Maryland Health System and also vice president for membership of the Potomac Council Boy Scouts of America, said the idea stemmed from various discussions between hospital personnel.

“I’m certain the Scouts had an absolute blast being able to participate in the mock training day at the new hospital,” said Turley, who also is an Eagle Scout. “It was a fantastic day from our perspective. The organization learned a tremendous amount today that will help to better prepare for the move next week.”

The new hospital will begin admitting patients as well as accepting new emergency patients and women in labor on Saturday at 6 a.m. In less than a 12-hour time period, approximately 220 patients from Braddock and Memorial hospitals will be transported to the new hospital.

“There is no doubt about it, we will clearly be ready for next Saturday’s grand opening,” said hospital CEO Barry Ronan. “I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome of the mock training day and the success in which it was executed.”

For more information about the grand opening of the new medical center, go to www. WMHS.com.