BINGHAMTON, NY – A community-wide disaster drill coordinated by Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing students, faculty and staff will begin at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 7, in the University Events Center.

Over 300 people are expected to participate in the drill, which will incorporate a mock scenario of a radiological emergency at Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant in Oswego County, New York.  The injured residents, played by students, children and adults from the community, will need to be transported to a surge facility (Binghamton University Events Center), as people require evacuation from the radiological “hot zone,” eliminating the use of nearby major hospitals. These “victims” will be decontaminated and triaged per actual radiological emergency protocol by trained students upon arrival at the events center. 

Participating community organizations include the American Red Cross, Vestal Emergency Medical Service, Harper’s Ferry Emergency Medical Service, Binghamton University Police, Broome County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), United Health Services, Lourdes Hospital, Susquehanna Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Center, Broome County Health Department, Broome County Medical Reserve Corp and Broome County Emergency Management Services.

Participants will utilize the Incident Command System (ICS) as an education tool. ICS is a standardized; all hazard incident management system used throughout the United States.

The purpose of the mock disaster drill is to educate and prepare nursing students and community partners in response to unforeseen disasters. Nurses and members of the community are welcome to join. For more information, contact Laura Kasey at kasey@binghamton.edu or Margaret Decker at mdecker@binghamton.edu.