North Central Health District

Region F Healthcare Coalition Holds Exercise

Posted December 6, 2013 by NCHD Admin

School shootings, bombings, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornados, floods, train derailments, airplane crashes, and epidemics all have one thing in common. They all have the potential to wreak havoc on our healthcare systems with large influx of patients and potential fatalities. But, what do healthcare agencies do when their facilities are beyond their capacity limit?

On November 21, healthcare agencies from throughout Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) Region F participated in a tabletop exercise to address these issues. The mass fatality exercise was facilitated by the North Central Health District and hosted by The Medical Center of Central Georgia, Region F’s coordinating hospital.

The purpose of the exercise was to provide participants with an opportunity to evaluate current concepts, plans, and capabilities for a response to a hospital mass fatality event and to use those plans to create a regional mass fatality protocol. 45 agencies were represented in the table top, which featured an infectious disease scenario. During the scenario, a simulated cell (SimCell) was used to deliver injects that encouraged discussion between exercise participants about how the scenario would realistically be handled. The SimCell sent injects through phone and email. David Borghelli, Director of Emergency Medical Services for Houston Healthcare EMS said, “I was glad to participate in this coalition exercise. The multi-agency cooperation and communication skills demonstrated were excellent. We spend a lot of time developing all different types of contingency plans for emergencies. This drill was a great opportunity to put our individual and regional plans, as well as responders, to the test. We were able to identify what worked well and what areas need further improvement. Further tabletop and practical exercises will better prepare us should we be called upon in the event of an incident.”

Anyone wanting more information about the Region F Healthcare Coalition should call Denys Fluitt at (478) 207-1411.