NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -
Superstorm Sandy and the nor'easter are real-life reminders to be prepared
for the unexpected.
Thursday, two East Texas universities did just that.
SFA and UT-Tyler nursing departments participated in a joint regional disaster
drill.
Community nursing
students have fun with their role playing. There's a drunk, a confused elderly
person and a host of other characters representing the kind of people you see
in a real disaster.
"These are patients
who come from nursing homes, who are bedridden, some of them in wheelchairs,
diabetes, all sorts of different problems," Dr. Della Connor said. "We are also
evacuating special needs facilities, so these are your patients who have mental
illness, who also have chemical dependencies."
The scenario is an
approaching wildfire. Since Katrina, Texas has a goal to move people out within
a 12-hour window of an approaching crisis.
Fortunately, the Texas Department
of Health now has a NASA tracking system.
So when evacuees load the Palestine
regional evacuation ambulance they're kept up with while on their trip to Tyler,
where UT-Tyler community nursing students are on ready to receive their
displaced patients.
"They will be
triaging the group as they come in and will care for them as if they will be caring
for regular special needs," said Rebecca Fountain of the UT-Tyler nursing
department.
It's to teach the
students, but it's also to protect you.
"These students will
be prepared to actually jump in and help their communities," Fountain said.
It's a hands-on learning
experience which provides a few laughs along the way, but brings very serious
results.
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