On Thursday community partners came together for a two-part emergency preparedness exercise focused on responding to a large tornado strike in the area. This training was organized and conducted by Geary County Emergency Management.
A tabletop exercise was held at the C.L. Hoover Opera House, bringing together every local first responder agency along with many major local organizations. Participants worked through coordinated response, communication, and recovery efforts following a simulated tornado impact. The exercise went very well and highlighted the strong collaboration that exists across our community.
In the afternoon, a functional exercise was conducted at Konza Community Health Center. During this portion of the exercise, the facility received multiple simulated tornado victims with a variety of injuries. The staff at Konza Community Health Center handled the sudden influx of patients professionally and managed the entire situation extremely well, demonstrating strong preparedness and dedication to patient care.
USD 475 provided five student volunteers who participated in the exercise. The students, all juniors and seniors in the Health and Human Services pathway at the high school, had the opportunity to see firsthand how medical triage works during an emergency situation.