KALISPELL — Kalispell Regional Medical Center and North Valley Hospital participated in an emergency communication exercise Friday morning preparing for an active shooter situation at a local school.
The two hospitals partnered with first responders to test communication issues for load balancing hospitals during a mass casualty event.
Kalispell Regional Healthcare Preparedness Manager Chelsia Elmore said close to 20 individuals participated in the exercise.
Elmore told MTN News that practicing disaster scenarios better prepares first responders for real-world emergencies.
She said hospital officials wanted to specifically train for an active shooter situation in a school setting because of the high number of school shootings occurring across the nation.
“We want to make sure that we’re taking care of our community because although we don’t want this to happen, we want to be prepared if it does,” said Elmore.
