MOULTRIE — Health care professional students had to treat patients from a bomb explosion, a possible Ebola infection, a building collapse and a chemical weapon attack Wednesday. It would have been a horrific event had it been real.

The scenarios were part of training exercises held at the Moultrie Technical College Veterans Parkway campus.

Greene Shepherd, of Advanced Disaster Life Support and a professor at the University of Georgia, said the courses help those in health care learn disaster response. The goal of the course, held throughout Georgia, is to help anyone involved in health care to be of assistance during a disaster situation.

Twenty-seven students from across Georgia took part in the course, including six paramedics from Colquitt County EMS, Shepherd said. The students were split into groups where “ambulance teams” treated single patients while others were responsible for handling a mass triage during a disaster situation.

At the mass triage, Chris Heath of ADLS said emergency responders searched for victims following a bomb explosion and determined the severity of their injuries. The “victims” were taken from the scene of the disaster and placed onto one of three tarps, with green being minimal injuries, yellow being delayed hospital attention and red meaning immediate medical response. There is also a fourth tarp, black, that means the patient is not expected to survive, but it was not used as dummies representing those killed were not moved.

A reason the “fatalities” were not moved was to provide assistance to investigators, Heath said. Students need to learn that the bodies become evidence at a crime scene.

Shepherd said the disaster drills allowed the students to apply the knowledge they had received after two days of lectures and small groups.

“This has been a real eye-opener for the students,” Shepherd said.

The program was made possible by a state grant to ADLS, and it was brought to Moultrie through the Southwest Georgia Public Health District.

“The National Disaster Life Support (NDLS) training program was established to better prepare health care professionals and emergency response personnel for mass casualty events ranging from natural disasters to acts of terrorism,” said Southwest Health District Emergency Preparedness Training and Exercise Coordinator Sue Clifton. “Public Health is happy to be part of bringing this important training to first responders here.”

The NDLS program recognizes that in large-scale mass casualty events, physicians and other health care workers must be knowledgeable of the need for efficient coordination among local, state, and federal emergency response efforts; how to protect themselves and others from further harm; how to communicate effectively with other emergency personnel and the media; and how to address the unique psychological impacts and related social chaos that may ensue.

“The mass casualty disaster drill is the highlight of the training,” Clifton said. It includes moulage, a process using theatrical makeup and materials to give volunteers realistic-looking wounds.

“The overarching purpose of the NDLS courses is to provide the basic information and skill set that all health and safety workers need to competently respond to an intended or naturally occurring public health emergency,” Julie Miller, who oversees All-Hazards Preparedness for the Southwest Health District, said. “Such training will help create and sustain a seamless and integrated disaster life support system at the national, state, and community levels.”

The NDLS courses provide a uniform, coordinated approach to mass casualty management that will enable emergency responders to:

• Recognize the potential for a mass casualty incident and identify quickly when a dangerous incident has occurred.

• Understand how to rapidly alert the public health and emergency response systems at the local, state, and national levels.

• Cope with the unusual search, rescue and triage challenges that occur in disaster situations.

• Understand how to meet the acute care needs of patients/victims in a safe and appropriate manner.

• Participate in a coordinated, multidisciplinary response to a terrorist event or other public health emergency.

• Become knowledgeable of personal safety measures to protect themselves when responding to an emergency situation.

• Become knowledgeable of personal roles, responsibilities, and limitations during a crisis situation (reporting of suspected event, being alert, incident command systems, legal implications, scope of practice and credentialing issues).

• Communicate confidently with the public and the media about the response plans and capabilities.

• Be able to locate additional literature and resources for assistance.