Mass casualty drill Thursday in Dayton

As part of local responders practicing for a mass casualty scenario, there may be loud noises like gun shots or an explosion near Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton on Thursday afternoon.

The exercise will be from around 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The full-scale and functional exercise is designed to test and evaluate the ability of hospitals and trauma programs to respond to a large influx of patients from a traumatic event, according to a press release from Premier Health.

Several Premier Health facilities — Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Miami Valley Hospital North in Englewood, and Jamestown Emergency Center in Jamestown — will all be part of the drill.

The exercise will also test the operations of law enforcement and EMS, including the use of the Rescue Task Force in responding to a terrorist attack.

Agencies participating in the mass casualty exercise include local EMS and law enforcement, as well as the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, the Southwest Ohio Regional Trauma System, and the Dayton Metropolitan Medical Response System.

Exercise participants posing as victims will be taken to each of the participating Premier Health facilities.

Premier stated that real patient care will take precedence over the exercise.