The St. Clair County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in conjunction with Ascension River District Hospital in East China Township held an Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Exercise at the hospital on December 6th, 2018. After several weeks of planning, over 50 people participated in the exercises. Assistance was provided from several emergency responder agencies including the St. Clair Fire Department, Marine City Fire Department, St. Clair County Sheriff Department, and Tri-Hospital EMS. The fire departments were able to utilize and train with their new protective gear that was recently purchased specifically for these types of incidents. Volunteers from the Port Huron Police VIP program and the Kimball Township Fire Department Fire Corp played the role of victims for the exercise. A team of Moulage experts helped to apply realistic makeup to the victims to simulate real injuries which added another level of realism to the event.
The exercise also tasked Ascension with assembling and coordinating staff from all departments within the
hospital, including doctors, nurses, security officers, and emergency management personnel in handling the patient surge into their Emergency Department. The exercise was deemed a success and is part of Ascension River District Hospital’s plan to become a Level IV Trauma Center as designated by the State of Michigan.
