Mock Evacuation Exercise at Wilton Meadows

A mock facility evacuation was conducted at Wilton Meadow Rehabilitation & Health Care Center on Wednesday, November 6th.  The mock exercise was conducted by The Connecticut Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan.

Although rare, the evacuation of a healthcare facility is a complex event requiring significant coordination with the community and region.  The focus of these exercises is to evaluate preparation for internal events (fire, power failures) and external events (hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes, etc.).  The focus is also on communications, tracking of evacuated residents, and handling a large influx of residents at receiving facilities.

“You can never be too prepared for an emergency situation, and with this hands-on experience we’re ready to respond quickly and accurately in any kind of crisis or disaster,” says Ellen Casey, Wilton Meadows’ Administrator.

Volunteers played the roles of residents being evacuated between various facilities. The exercises included operations coordinated out of “Disaster Struck Facilities”, where mock residents were staged awaiting transportation to “Resident Accepting Facilities”.

There were also Responders (volunteers comprised of Nursing Home and Assisted Living Administrators, Directors of Nursing, Directors of Maintenance, and many more) set up at regional Coordinating Centers across the state to ensure accountability for all facilities.

The exercises are a joint effort by LTC-MAP members, RPA a JENSEN HUGHES Company, Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, LeadingAge Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, local health directors, fire departments, emergency medical services and emergency management officials.