THOMASVILLE — On Thursday, July 27, Archbold Memorial Hospital will conduct a fire drill, during which hospital staff and other community agencies will simulate a response.

The drill will take place at 8 a.m., primarily on the seventh floor of the North Tower at Archbold Memorial Hospital. First responders will respond to the hospitals call to E-911, arriving on the scene to assess and control the simulated situation.

“It’s extremely important that our staff knows how to respond in real emergency situations and during a crisis or disaster that could affect the safety and well-being of our patients, visitors and employees,” said Chuck Winchester, Archbold emergency management coordinator.

Archbold frequently holds drills to practice response to internal emergencies or disasters such as fire, extreme weather and infant or child abduction. In addition, the hospital routinely partners with local law enforcement and first responders to simulate external events such as chemical spills and mass casualty events that, in real life, would result in enacting the activation of a countywide emergency management plan. The hospital has been working with first responders and community partners for months to prepare for the drill on Thursday.

“We evaluate our policies and test our procedures to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and community,” said Winchester. “Our team has met with local fire departments and city and county officials several times in preparation for the upcoming exercise. We’ve developed a joint plan that we’ll implement during the exercise to test the policies and procedures we’ve discussed and put in place for this type event.”

“Archbold, the City of Thomasville and Thomas County will test internal and external communication systems during the exercise. Social media will also be used and its effectiveness for disseminating information quickly and accurately to the community evaluated,” said Winchester. “Though residents may see information on Facebook or receive a text or phone calls alerting them of the scenario, we want to stress to the community that this is only a drill, and that our community first responders will maintain full control of the exercise.”

For more information about the upcoming drill, call Winchester at (229) 551-2199.