Mock Disaster - February 28, 2024

Centennial Mock Disasters. What are they?

Since 2005 Centennial College has been hosting interprofessional and interagency Mass Casualty Exercises, with participant numbers form 300-700 people per event! Professionals and learners from First Responders, Health Care, IT, Media, Business and Administration including Government all participate the save Centennial City's Population from a major disaster.

Hundreds play the injured or displaced. Fire will perform rescues, Police provide security, EMS brings injured to the SIM Hospital and the Reception Centre reunites loved ones. Multiple Emergency Operation Centres, work to support the teams on the ground. You would be amazed at the technologies and public health strategies tested in these events that have shaped actual plans in use. Even more important are the lifelong learning the students experience when forced to "self-organize, adapt and do more with less."

Who participates is the Mock Disaster?

Students from Centennial Colleges First Response Programs (Police, Fire, EMS), Nursing, Pharmacy Technicians, PSW,SSW, DSW, Health Informatics, Simulation, Research, Media and others combine with learners from University of Toronto Emergency Medicine Program. They are joined by professionals from all these fields to form teams. Government participation from local to provincial and even federal does occur. Industry looking to evaluate their crisis solutions have also been known to "play". We have been trialing disaster technology, telemedicine and mobile health solutions over 15 years!

Why do a Mock Disaster?

The demand for health care and other community resources is getting harder to meet. Extreme Events and Pandemics once thought to be rare, are occuring at unprecedented rates. We have never been more vulnerable to crises than now. The key to being prepared is developing an "adaptive" and "creative" mindset that sees collaboration as the answer to the challenge. The Centennial Mock Disaster provides a safe "sandbox" to try new ideas that could empower "us" to do more with less.