UM Hosts Disaster Simulation for Nursing Students and Local Partners

The BankUnited Center Fieldhouse on UM’s Coral Gables campus was transformed into a Point of Distribution (POD) for emergency medications on Saturday, as students, faculty and staff from the University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) and Office of Emergency Preparedness, along with the support of Miami-Dade Health Department and other local agencies, practiced in unison how to distribute needed emergency medications during a mock terrorist attack.

By SONHSNews 04-14-2015

The simulated crisis took the form of a deadly virus unleashed on Miami-Dade County that turns people into Zombies. Volunteers recruited from UM student associations, community organizations and other local groups played the role of “victims” of the “Zombie Apocalypse.” Each pretend, or simulated, patient was given a list of different signs and symptoms to act out, or instructed not show any symptoms at all. Assisting in the scenario were also Miami-Dade Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, UM Police, the ‘Canes Emergency Response Team, and Miami Dade County’s Office of Emergency Management.

The exercise was designed to familiarize personnel from a variety of agencies with POD operations, with a particular focus on educating SONHS students on the finer points of providing disaster nursing services. The nursing students were pushed to their limits as they worked to screen patients, segregate the sick from the well, transfer sick populations to definitive care, and process well populations -- all areas on which they were evaluated by School of Nursing and Health Studies instructors present at the event.

Saturday’s innovative exercise was mandatory for senior baccalaureate nursing students, since beginning in December of 2014 all SONHS Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) graduates are required to be badged and certified to deploy with the county’s Medical Reserve Corps in the event of disasters or other public health needs. Before the simulation, all nursing students completed online training courses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a requirement of their Medical Reserve Corp certification, as well an additional POD training conducted by the Miami-Dade County Health Department.

“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains a Strategic National Stockpile of medicines and supplies, which it can distribute nationwide through state and local health departments,” explained SONHS faculty member Summer DeBastiani, a former health scientist in the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. “UM has an agreement in partnership with the Miami-Dade County Health Department to operate as a POD in the case of an emergent situation requiring massive medication or immunization distribution. For the Zombie Apocalypse, we had our nursing students respond to a mock disaster just as they would if called in to serve for the Medical Reserve Corps during a real disaster.”

The simulation was developed using the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program method, a capability -based exercise methodology which allows for different disaster response personnel to work together to exercise plans and protocols. At a post-event debriefing session, known in emergency-preparedness jargon as a “Hot Wash”, participants convened to discuss lessons learned during the exercise. This feedback will be used to develop the After-Action Report and inform the next disaster simulation activity.