UGA Institute for Disaster Management

How do healthcare facilities turn chaos into care during a mass casualty incident? It all comes down to how they prepare.

With major global events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup heading to Atlanta and Miami, the IDM team has been working alongside external partners to deliver the "15 ’til Surge" Training Program to regional healthcare facilities.

🔗 Read the full feature on our website to learn how these trainings are maximizing regional hospital readiness and community resilience- https://idm.publichealth.uga.edu/preparing-for-the-surge/

It was a pleasure to travel to Tennessee to offer our emergency preparedness and infectious disease training to the long term care staff of the Upper Cumberland Healthcare Preparedness Coalition.

Our team is so passionate about the work they do and love to share their knowledge with the individuals caring for one of our most vulnerable populations.

Thank you to the attendees and to our friends at the UCH Coalition for having us.

Disaster Exercise Photo Series 4 | Triage

A safe distance away from the disaster site, students gathered to stage a triage area for individuals impacted by the simulated tornado. Using a triage algorithm called “SALT,” first responders categorized patients by acuity. This method prioritizes resources based on the severity of patients’ injuries and their likelihood of survival. Immediate injuries were treated on-site, and ambulances were coordinated to transport the most critical patients to hospitals. At this point, the exercise concluded, and students headed inside to conduct a “hotwash.” Thanks for following along!

All injuries are simulated for training purposes.

Disaster Exercise Photo Series 3 | Command Center

In the central hub of disaster response, the Command Center, seven students gathered to coordinate the response of a simulated tornado. Each playing a different role in the Incident Command structure, students communicated with first responders on scene, hospitals, and police, all while working from limited and potentially unreliable information. In a disaster response, these are the individuals responsible for finding, coordinating, and sending resources to aid the care of those impacted by the event.

Hurricane season starts June 1st, but don't wait for the first storm to prepare. Take care of these tasks now and thank yourself later.

This list is not comprehensive, but meant to act as a guide that can be adjusted to the individual.

Disaster Exercise Photo Series 2 | Response

A tornado struck the Health Sciences Campus – or so students were told at the beginning of their skills assessment exercise. Teams of responders were sent to the scene with first aid supplies and instructed to assess, triage, and evacuate the injured. Dealing with an unsafe environment, limited resources, and poor communication methods, students were challenged with reaching the command center to request aid.

All injuries are simulated for training purposes only

Disaster Exercise Photo Series 1 | Pre-Exercise

This past semester, students had the opportunity to participate in a disaster exercise in the final days of class. While the brunt of the prep work took place in the months leading up to the exercise, pictured here are the mere minutes before it commenced. Moulage was applied, role players got into position, and observers did their final walk through prior to show time. Stay tuned to see how the rest of the exercise went!

All injuries are simulated for training purposes.

This month, IDM partnered with Piedmont Healthcare to develop and deliver two 4-hour trainings on the Hospital Incident Command System for leadership.

With both the HICS Leadership Course and the HICS Leadership Train-the-Trainer Course now complete, we want to thank everyone that made this effort successful. We're looking forward to seeing how this work supports teams across the system moving forward!

Congratulations, graduates! We are so grateful to have been a part of your time here at UGA. Come back and see us ❤️