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Valley hospitals, law enforcement agencies conduct mock mass casualty event

Hospital Generic
Posted at 1:41 PM, Aug 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-09 18:44:46-04

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Five Valley hospitals and several local law enforcement agencies participated in a mock emergency response drill to mimic what a real-life mass casualty event would look like in the greater Phoenix area.

HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn, Shea, Thompson Peak, John C. Lincoln and Deer Valley hospitals all participated in the mock event, which began at 1:30 p.m.

RELATED: Death toll in El Paso mass shooting rises

The training started with a simulated response to an active shooter at Scottsdale Bible Church, on Shea Boulevard near the Loop 101. Once the 'threat' was neutralized, the training did not stop for the police officers.

"It is clearly not acceptable for a police officer to be on scene and say, 'I need fire' - fire can not immediately respond," said Todd Larson with HonorHealth. "The police officer needs to be able to do some immediate life saving measures."

First responders transported about 60 "victims" to the hospitals, simulating multiple mass casualty events throughout the Valley.

HonorHealth says the goal was to put as much stress on the system as possible to see how well the responded. Thursday night, officials said the drill was a success.

HonorHealth says they had already planned the Valley-wide simulation prior to Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and Sunday's mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.