Chickasaw Co. executes a disaster drill at a local nursing home
OKOLONA, Miss. (WCBI) – When a disaster strikes, it’s important that all those responding are on the same page.
To see what their emergency plans look like in action, Chickasaw County emergency responders partnered with Shearer-Richardson Memorial Nursing Home to execute a preparedness drill.
“This is where you want to learn. This is where you want to see if your plans are lacking or if you need to make changes and just give your staff an opportunity to practice the real-life event just as if it had happened,” said Linda Griffin, the director for Chickasaw County’s Emergency Management Agency.
State emergency personnel joined Chickasaw County emergency teams as they played out a scenario involving two large scale disasters.
“We performed a tornado watch followed by a tornado warning, where we took a direct hit, which resulted in a fire, so we also had our fire team working with us here, so that our staff and our residents know that we’re here to protect them and what steps we need to do to ensure that they’re as safe as possible,” said Shelly Wood, the administrator for Shearer-Richardson.
Wood says in an event like this, the top priority is the safety of the residents.
Ophelia Smith participated in the drill.
“It was quite educational. They did a very thorough job with everybody responding,” said Smith.
Smith said she feels more prepared.
“It makes you know what to expect when something like this happens and it’s not a frightening fear. It’s something you have to react to in the right manner and everybody is concerned about each other,” said Smith.
Okolona High School students also joined in the drill, portraying disaster victims.
