Hospitals, county health departments and county emergency management officials from across two WV Healthcare Coalition Regions will be participating in a functional exercise on Dec. 8, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
The event will focus on response plans for an actual crisis, which could trigger a sudden surge of patients who are injured or suffering from an unexpected disaster.
Normal hospital, health department and emergency management operations will NOT be affected by this exercise. Directors of the exercise have the authority to suspend or cancel the drill at any time if they feel it is interfering with the needs of the hospitals or communities.
The scenario for the Dec. 8 drill revolves around a heavy snow storm followed by a warm weather front which brings unseasonably warm temperatures and heavy rains to the region.
This is a functional exercise and will not involve the actual deployment of resources, however, those with scanner radios may hear radio communications pertaining to this exercise.
Hospitals, county health and emergency officials from Barbour, Braxton, Brooke, Doddridge, Hancock, Harrison, Gilmer, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur and Wetzel counties will be participating.
Exercises such as this are conducted on a regular basis to develop, maintain and improve working relationships with regional healthcare and emergency response agencies, should an actual emergency occur.
