On March 19, 2014, the Institute for Disaster Management attended the Region J Full-Scale Exercise. Here’s an excerpt about the exercise from the Georgia Health Care Association’s “Emergency Preparedness Newsletter.”

Effingham Health System participates in Regional Exercise

March 19, 2014…Effingham Extended Care Center participated in the Region J Hurricane Full Scale Exercise, which established a learning environment for players to exercise emergency response plans, policies, and procedures as they pertain to a region-wide healthcare evacuation due to a significant hurricane landfall along the Georgia coast.

Representatives from the Institute for Disaster Management at The University of Georgia, Georgia Emergency Management Agency / Homeland Security, and the Effingham Emergency Management Agency participated in the exercise alongside of the TEAM from Effingham Health System.

In the exercise, they simulated where 20 residents were picked up by their relatives, and 85 residents where temporarily relocated to a designated community center in Augusta, GA.  Students from the Effingham College and Career Academy played the role of the residents in the exercise.

The Region J Hurricane Evacuation FSE is evidence of the growing partnership among the healthcare community for the response to a regional healthcare evacuation event.

Posted April 4, 2014.