Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Three Rivers College will hold its third mass casualty training event on Tuesday, November 26. The training is will help prepare students in participating programs to be prepared for a mass casualty emergency such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack, and to test the college’s emergency response plans. This will be the first mass casualty training event held on the Poplar Bluff Campus.  During the event, entrances to the campus will be blocked, and the campus will not be accessible to the general public.

Students from several fields of study will participate in the training, including graduating nursing students, EMT and Paramedic students, fire science students, and members of the Missouri Sherriff’s Association Training Academy. The training will also receive support from Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, local ambulance services, law enforcement agencies, and fire departments.

In addition to being the largest mass casualty event the college has performed, the training will have extensive participation from local first responders, according to Staci Campbell, Department Chair of Nursing and Allied Health at Three Rivers. The Poplar Bluff Police Department, the Butler County Fire Protection District, the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, and Air Evac Lifeteam will be among the local participants. It is also the first time that a mass casualty event has been held on the Poplar Bluff campus.

In keeping with the training’s focus on realism, the students themselves will coordinate much of the event, with students serving in leadership and command/control positions. The college is also keeping the type of “disaster” under wraps, so that students have no chance to prepare beforehand.

Local news outlets are invited to attend, but will be treated according to crisis procedures while the training is active, and are encouraged to stage at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Questions will not be answered by participating students and staff until the training is over, and reporters are asked not to disrupt the training while it is in progress. Reporters wishing to cover the event should contact Three Rivers Media Services at 573-840-9739 or emailjatwood@trcc.edu beforehand.