Published on March 13, 2024
Read Time: 1 Minute
On March 7, Phelps Health participated in a community Emergency Management Decontamination Exercise. This exercise allowed multiple organizations to practice a response to a hypothetical community-wide emergency situation.
Students from three local nursing programs, along with their instructors, played the part of the victims, victims’ families and journalists. The mock situation was a mass casualty event, with simulated injured and chemically contaminated victims who required a response from multiple agencies.
“At Phelps Health, we strive for realism in executing our predefined emergency plans to ensure the highest level of care preparedness,” said Phelps Health Emergency Management Specialist Wendy Squires.
Phelps Health has an emergency plan in place and uses these exercises as a learning opportunity. “Our goal is to help our staff be prepared to care for our community in a real event,” said Phelps Health Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer Keri Brookshire-Heavin.
Phelps Health partnered with the following departments, organizations and persons in this exercise: Phelps Health, St. James and Maries County Emergency Management Services (EMS); Phelps County Emergency Management Director and Phelps County Sherriff Mike Kirn; Rolla City Emergency Management Director Bradley Woods; State Emergency Management Agency Region I Coordinator Brett Hendrix; Pulaski County Emergency Management Director Hector Silva; and Meramec Regional Planning Commission Local Emergency Planning District Coordinator Tammy Snodgrass.
Special thanks go out to the nursing students and their instructors; to All God’s Children’s Daycare, for the use of their gym due to inclement weather; and to USA Tours, for donating a bus and a driver.
