GAINESVILLE—There's no need to worry if you saw heavy police and fire department presence around New Holland Core Knowledge Academy and Flowery Branch High School Tuesday morning—it was all part of a regional drill being conducted by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
Dozens of actors played the part of victims in a mock tornado disaster, according to local EMA officials, with "injured" volunteers ranging from those with cuts and bruises to head trauma. Some victims "died" at the scene.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center, utilizing both of its campuses, participated in the event as well.
"Not only are we looking at emergency personnel, but the private sector as well," said Gainesville Police Cpl. Kevin Holbrook, who said several private ambulance companies were involved in the coordinated effort.
Overall 90 victims were treated for their various injuries; Holbrook said first responders are tasked with—more or less—categorizing patients based on the seriousness of their injuries.
"It's the first responders responsibility to assess each and every patient, determining what kind of need each patient has," said Holbrook.
The hospital, however, was dealing with a more than just a tornado, as their staff was already dealing with a mock flu epidemic that started on Friday.
"We did a surge of patients, and simulated that. (It) overwhelmed our system and put us at a high census," said Jennifer Davis, Emergency Preparedness Manager for Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Davis said the hospital had several "fatalities" with their flu outbreak, and simulated having their morgue filled to capacity.
No worries, Davis said. There were no live bodies put into the facility.
"So then today we had to deal with a tornado, and we had to deal with the surge of trauma patients that were coming in from that event as well," said Davis.
She said they do smaller-scale drills (like the flu epidemic) once or twice per year, and the full-scale ones happen once every three years, as required by the state.
It takes quite a bit of planning and preparation to do a drill like the tornado drill, so the staff isn't generally caught off guard in the process.
"We've been planning this specific drill since last October, so it wasn't a surprise. Staff did know it was coming.They did know (Tuesday) was the day we were doing it, but they did not know the 'little pieces' that were coming in," said Davis.
The smaller drills, she said, are a surprise to the staff, and they don't require nearly as much coordination and planning.
"I want to catch them off guard, because that's when I find the areas that do need improvement, but most of the time when I surprise them, they do much better," said Davis.
When it comes to these disasters—no matter the scale—Davis and Holbrook said communication is key, and these drills help them to do that.
"We have to be prepared from those minor bumps and bruises all the way up to those critical patients," said Holbrook.
The drill started at 9 a.m. with a mock call to 911, and wrapped up around noon with a small press briefing at the hospital.
