City's first multi-agency disaster drill garners a 'B'

An imaginary tornado struck Dyersburg High School Thursday morning. Seventeen patients - all of whom suffered from a bad case of Halloween make-up -- were strewn on the floor of the little gym.

The stage was set for the city's first inter-agency disaster drill. For their first rehearsal, the actors got a passing grade. "Overall, we'll give it a 'B' rating," said Capt. Tommy Gibbons of the Dyersburg Fire Department, one of the drill's coordinators. He said he noticed some shortcomings that will be addressed with specialized training this year. Gibbons said he plans to hold three more drills this year.

Dyersburg Police Capt. Mark Grant said he was pleased with the drill. "I was very impressed with the response," he said. "There's nothing perfect ever." Gibbons nodded. "It's a learning experience," he said. "Everybody involved did a good job and fortunately, where were not any (real) emergencies during the drill." Sallie Adkins, director of nursing for Methodist Healthcare-Dyersburg Hospital, tracked every patient who came into the emergency room. It was her first disaster drill.

"I guess it went all right," she said, as the last of the "patients" left the hospital. "Everyone was seen and sent to the proper place." Complicating the disaster drill at the hospital was the fact that real patients needed care. Adkins said at least five real patients were in the ER when the "disaster victims" arrived.

Carrie Beld, the hospital's quality management director, said the hospital frequently hold disaster drills. In fact, any time there are more than six patients in the emergency room, hospital personnel go into an emergency mode like they did Thursday morning.

Beld said the hospital's doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, radiological technicians and other personnel treated each of the disaster victims as if they were really injured. "We're taking them through every single system they would have to go through to stress our systems to see if they work," Beld said.

The drill involved members of the city's fire, police and public works departments; the hospital and its ambulance service; the Emergency Operations Center; the American Red Cross; the county's emergency management director; and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Dyersburg State Community College students and other volunteers portrayed the victims. The exercise proved educational even for the victims.

DSCC student Ramona Gaines of Covington said she learned what she might face if she was actually caught in a disaster. "At first I thought it was boring, but it turned out to be a good experience," she said.

Virginia Pride of Dyersburg, who volunteered to become a victim, said she reconsidered her decision when she found out she would portray a heart attack patient. She said she's already had two heart attacks in real life. She drew upon her experiences while acting as a victim Thursday.

Mike Caudill, TEMA area coordinator, said exercises like these are valuable because they give people a chance to practice their skills and decision-making processes.

The drill was the largest ever involving city crews and it was scheduled to coincide with Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is being observed this week.