Mobile hospital unit set up during emergency drill

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dozens of workers and volunteers came together Tuesday to simulate an emergency scenario to train for potential disasters.

The exercise was held at the Orlando Health Downtown Campus.

During the emergency preparedness drill, a mobile hospital unit was set up for the response.

Eric Alberts is the senior director of emergency management at Orlando Health and coordinated the scenario.

“Time is of the essence and that’s why we put all this together today,” Alberts said. “This was not here this morning. We did all this today.”

After the equipment was in place, workers brought in patients from a simulated terrorist attack.

“There’s walking wounded or minor yellow acuity, which is an immediate care situation. However, sometimes we get red, which is life in danger and immediate care needed,” Alberts said.

Leaders with Orlando Health said a large-scale disaster requires temporary structures for treating minor and moderate injuries outside the hospital setting.

The alternate sites help ensure trauma centers and emergency departments are available for patients with critical and serious injuries.

“We have to do our best part here to triage them, stabilize them, and transport them to more definitive care,” Alberts said. “We would set up this field hospital component to help offload all those patients surging and saturating our hospitals.”

Tuesday’s drill came less than a week after the deadliest mass shooting so far this year, which was in Lewiston, Maine.

Alberts said the training is part of ongoing efforts to prepare for disasters, both natural and manmade.

“This is about leadership, communication, and collaboration,” Alberts said. “A really big motivation for today is all that teamwork and collaboration and making it happen for our patients.”

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Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.