SPC host disaster drill to help prepare emergency response of community

by Courtney Bullard, co-news editor

 

The bubonic plague was released by terrorists as a weapon of mass destruction during a tailgate party prior to a football game between Texas Tech University and the University of Texas.

This was the scenario given to the Hockley County Emergency Operations Team for the disaster drill on Oct. 24-Oct.25.   The Levelland Police Department acted as the Emergency Operations Center, with the City of Levelland Municipal Building acting as the Incident Command Center.  The Point of Distribution (POD) was set up at South Plains College.

“We are so fortunate to have a location like South Plains College, “ said D’Ette Edens, student health coordinator at SPC. “It is a great utility to use in a situation like this.”

The drill involved many volunteers, which included members of the community, SPC students, faculty and staff. Most of the students involved were nursing students. 

It began at the front door of the Administration Building at SPC.  Here, the victims who entered were greeted and given a piece of paper with a number on it. The greeters recorded the time the victims entered on the paper.  Next, the volunteers went to the triage, which is the process of sorting victims to determine medical priority in order to increase the number of survivors. 

The volunteers filled out a form that asked questions such as “Have you been exposed to someone with an unexplained rash, or Do you have a skin rash, mouth sores, or mouth spots that started within the last few weeks? After the volunteer “victims” had their initial screening, they were then sent to different areas.  They received handouts that explained the plague and its effects. There was also a video that could be viewed for more information.  If they had special conditions, they were sent to the special needs area.  This would include pregnancies, allergies, and other medical problems. They were evaluated before they could receive their medication.

After the screening, they were sent to the Sundown Room in SPC’s Student Center, where the actual POD was set up.  That is where they received their medication, which were actually Snickers and Twix candy bars. They then turned in their numbered paper, and their time out was recorded.

“It was a good experience, because we will be prepared if it really happened,” said Marinda Serenil, nursing student and volunteer.

The drill was then followed by an evaluation by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).  The volunteers and TEEX had an open discussion about what was done well and what needed to be improved. They discussed things such as the need to provide transportation for those who did not have any and immunizations for volunteers and their families. A total of 74 victims were treated in 50 minutes, and according to TEEX, that was very good for the first time.

“I think it’s good to always be prepared,” said Larry Nichols, South Plains College Police Academy coordinator. “You won’t do that unless you try and experiment.”

The purpose of this drill is to better prepare for events that could challenge Hockley County’s response to a major catastrophic event.  This is not limited to terrorist attacks. It can also include weather-related events or other situations that would require mass immunization. For example, an employee of the Sonic Drive-in in Hereford recently tested positive for Hepatitis A.  Health officials administered more than 2,600 shots to prevent it.

The drill’s objectives were to assess the Regional Unified Command and Resource Response plan.  That includes enhancing the region’s capability to manage weapons of mass destruction and terrorism incidents in the initial 12 to 24 hours, along with improving the interaction and cooperation between regional responders and the state, and sustaining a continuous, viable terrorism incident preparedness program in Texas.  Goals for the exercise included gaining control of an incident, coordinating a response, requesting assistance, mass care, mass decontamination, and recovery from a situation.

“I think it went well,” said Cathy Mitchell, dean of women at SPC. “We learned a lot.  We found areas we can improve on for next year, and we appreciate everyone’s help that assisted in it.”

Overall, TEEK was impressed with the performance of the POD at South Plains College.

“It was a good test,” said Ted Holder, local emergency response coordinator for Hockley County. “We learned what are strengths were and weaknesses, which was the purpose.”         

Many other counties conducted their own disaster exercises as well, including Lubbock, Cochran, Bailey, Lamb, Floyd, Hale, Crosby, Dickens, Garza, King, Lynn, Motley, Terry, and Yoakum.