Health First’s Four Brevard Hospitals to Participate in Mock Disaster Preparedness Drill Thursday

exercise will include more than 2,400 students with triage tags and simulated injuries

Health First’s four Brevard County hospitals will participate in a mock disaster preparedness drill on Thursday, April 10, from 8 a.m. to noon. The drill will simulate a large-scale mass-casualty preparedness exercise, in which “patient” actors will be diverted to, and received by, hospitals across the Central Florida region. (Health First image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Health First’s four Brevard County hospitals will participate in a mock disaster preparedness drill on Thursday, April 10, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The drill will simulate a large-scale mass-casualty preparedness exercise, in which “patient” actors will be diverted to, and received by, hospitals across the Central Florida region.

The entire exercise will include more than 2,400 students with triage tags and simulated injuries. It is designed to stress hospital emergency rooms across Central Florida, testing the hospitals’ ability to handle mass casualty events.

The annual drill is coordinated by the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition, and supported by more than 100 partner agencies, including emergency management, schools, EMS, law enforcement, hospitals, public health, and many others.

More than sixty hospitals throughout central Florida, along with the county emergency management offices, the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition, the FBI and local law enforcement, EMS agencies, Central Florida schools and universities. The Florida Poison Control Hotline, and many other partners, will conduct a full-scale mass casualty exercise.

The exercise will take place at hospitals in Brevard, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, St. Lucie, and Volusia Counties. It will involve approximately 2,400 student volunteers acting as victims and hundreds of volunteers supporting the exercise. Students will wear makeup to simulate injuries and enter hospital emergency departments seeking treatment.

Emergency Management in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola Counties will activate their Emergency Operations Centers during the exercise. County personnel and partners will be present in the EOCs to practice real-time response with participating hospitals.

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