Pictured is Trinity Health System’s St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital. (File photo/GAGE VOTA)

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Southeast/Southeast Central Ohio Healthcare Coalition is holding a coordinated full-scale emergency drill involving every hospital in Ohio’s Regions 7 and 8 today.

The drill will occur locally at Trinity St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, beginning at 8 a.m. and running all day.

It imagines many serious emergencies related to severe weather – flooding and road closures impacting the ability to transport patients with severe injuries, weeks of rain breaking down infrastructure and leading to an outbreak of a waterborne illness, a hospital forced to evacuate a floor due to a gas leak and more.

The hospitals must coordinate with public and private organizations – EMS, fire, public health, long-term care facilities and emergency management partners to manage life-saving actions with scarce resources to get patients the care they need.

“The good news is – this is what they’ve been training for,” the Southeast/Southeast Central Ohio Healthcare Coalition said via a press release. “COTS, the Columbus Medical Association’s emergency preparedness organization and SEOHC coordinator will activate its Hospital Incident Command Center while all participating hospitals and agencies activate their respective command centers to manage the evolving scenarios and coordinate response efforts across the region.”