Fort Bragg uses fake tornado exercise to prepare for the real thing

Oct. 24--They came in waves.

The first woman was bruised and battered, but otherwise not seriously injured.

The next patient had no visible injuries.

Then, one by one, the number of patients at Womack Army Medical Center's Emergency Department began to grow.

Some were caked in blood. Others had debris sticking out of their bodies. Many were bandaged.

The flurry of activity was meant to tax Womack's resources, to push the hospital to the brink, Marshas Lunt said.

At least, that's how Lunt, Womack's emergency manager, planned it.

On Wednesday afternoon, Womack and its surrounding clinics on Fort Bragg took part in an exercise meant to help them prepare for a catastrophic event.

In a scenario that recalled a "could-have-been" version of the April 2011 tornadoes that hit Fayetteville and other parts of North Carolina, Wednesday's exercise focused on how Fort Bragg's medical community would have responded had there been scores of injuries.

Lunt said more than 60 soldiers acted as victims for the exercise, volunteering to have fake injuries applied.

Those victims descended on Fort Bragg's clinics and medical homes in Fayetteville and Hope Mills, where they were stabilized, triaged and sent to Womack for further treatment.

Lunt said the idea of the exercise was to tax the Emergency Department, a tall order given Womack has the busiest emergency room in all the Army.

"We're trying to overload the system," Lunt said. "We need to be prepared for the worst-case. We have to be prepared. We have to train people."

In the past, Womack has trained for terrorist attacks, active shooters and other severe weather.

It was the second time Womack has prepared for a tornado since April 2011, when one cut a swath of damage across the post.

The training began Wednesday afternoon, when hospital officials received notification of a tornado watch, then a warning.

In the scenario, multiple tornadoes hit Fort Bragg, and high winds caused severe damage.

Just after 2 p.m., Womack's deputy commander, Col. Sharon McKiernan, gathered officials in a basement hospital room to give orders and help coordinate the response.

The hospital needs to be able to support itself and patients for up to 96 hours following an emergency, Lunt said.

From that basement room, with its bank of computers, officials coordinated the response at the Emergency Department and the outlying clinics, tracking supplies, patient information and injury data.

Womack closed its outlying clinics on Fort Bragg for the training exercise, Lunt said.

But the inconvenience will be worth it, she said, if Fort Bragg is prepared to respond in the event of a mass emergency, like what could have happened if the 2011 tornadoes had taken a different path through post.

At the time, officials said the April 16, 2011, tornado that went through Fort Bragg caused more than $60 million in damage to vehicles and buildings, but missed all housing areas. Fayetteville saw homes and businesses destroyed and damaged. One person died in Cumberland County, and seven more in the Cape Fear region.

Staff writer Drew Brooks can be reached at brooksd@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.

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