First responders, Portneuf Medical Center simulate school shooting

POCATELLO — Various local agencies came together Thursday to prepare for the worst when it’s least expected.

The mock critical incident and reunification exercise put local first responders, Grace Lutheran High School, Portneuf Medical Center, and ISU on high alert, running through what exactly each entity would do in an active school shooter situation.

“You want to practice, you want to be ready. What this exercise and what the reunification process is going to do is allow us to see what works, what may not work, and go from there. It allows first responders to improve their process,” said city of Pocatello spokesperson Logan McDougall.

The process began at Grace Lutheran, who reached out and wanted to be a part of the simulation.

The students evacuated then loaded onto buses and were transported to Holt Arena. There, they would be reunited with their families, and for them, the drill was over.

That couldn’t be said over at Portneuf Medical Center.

“Many of (our staff) knew that there would be a drill but they didn’t know the magnitude of the drill. And certainly it was much bigger than any of them anticipated,” said Portneuf Medical Center Trauma Director Drew McRoberts.

The hospital went to code black, signifying a disaster, putting nearly everything else on hold having doctors triage patient by patient.

And facing perhaps the greatest challenge – balancing this incident with other real patients.

“It never fails when you plan an exercise you get busy. But bad things happen when we’re busy so we need to be prepared for these type of events whether we’re slow or busy,” said Portneuf Trauma and EMS Manager Greg Vickers.

And at the end of the day, everybody learned, and everybody will be more prepared for the worst.