CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

60 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY On October 22, 2015, first-year PA students participated in a mass-casualty disaster drill at the Southwest Florida International Airport. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) orchestrates the full-scale drill every five years as an important part of the airport’s emergency prepared- ness plan. Forty organizations and more than 400 individuals participated in the exercise, which allowed NSU’s physician assistant students to act as both victims and responders. The class attended a one-hour drill overview at the airport on September 17. It was led by Lisa LeBlanc- Hutchings of the Lee County Port Authority, who provided information about the role of the airport in the drill, and Kevin Kirkwood, M.P.H., from the Lee County Health Department, who informed the group about the Medical Reserve Corps. They were then photographed for their official MRC badges, which would allow them entry into the drill. During the overview, the group was educated about the START (simple triage and rapid treatment) process by which large numbers of injured people are prioritized based on the severity of their injuries. The START process utilizes the criteria of respirations, perfusion, and mental status to classify individuals as black, red, yellow, or green. A black-tagged victim is deemed dead or non-salvageable. Red victims are unstable and require immediate treat- ment and transport to a hospital. Yellow victims are those who need hospital care, but not immediately, while green-tagged individuals are the walking wounded who Students Participate in Airport Disaster Drill BY ROBERT HAYNES, B.A., EMT-P, CLASS OF 2017 PRESIDENT Students were victims and rescuers in the mass-casualty disaster drill. Physician Assistant FORT MYERS