Nursing and public safety students at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland learned lessons Wednesday they hope they’ll never have to use. They took part in a mass casualty emergency drill on campus and learned how to respond to an active shooter incident.
The students worked with professionals from multiple agencies, including Cleveland and White County Emergency Services, Cleveland Police, the White County Sheriff’s Office, White County Health Department, and Northeast Georgia Health System.
University nursing students set up triage stations to handle the mock patients. The purpose of the drill was to teach them how to provide an immediate response in treating a variety of medical conditions.
“I think our seniors did a wonderful job. They collaborated really well with all the public safety employees that were here with us. They really did impress me,” says TMU Assistant Nursing Professor Kelly Edwards.
According to Edwards, the drill brought out some things “that we can improve on,” and she says students and staff will be working on those things.
White County Fire Service Captain Lanier Swafford served as incident commander. He called the drill a “win-win” for everyone involved.
“Everything today blended so well, from the city fire department, from the county services, EMS, the college, public health, the hospital system,” says Swafford. “The folks came in today and were able to successfully work together to help the college meet their objective.”
