Wills Memorial Hospital is better prepared for a large-scale emergency, thanks to training a staff member has received and is passing on to hospital staff.

Bruce Bailey, the hospital's Performance Improvement Coordinator and Staff Development Coordinator, just completed two courses on Hospital Emergency Preparedness and received two certifications. "The first was for the two-day basic Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator I attended in Gainesville," he said. "Then I attended a one-day Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator Level 2 class in Savannah."

Bailey said that this was only the second class of its kind taught by MCG in Augusta. "While I'm already trained as an NDLS (National Disaster Life Support) instructor, which teaches how to handle disasters at the site of the disaster, these classes prepare me to ensure Wills Memorial Hospital will be ready if a disaster hits, like when a tornado hit Sumter Regional or in the surrounding area."

Although weather-related disasters are the most likely local scenarios, he said, the fact that Wilkes EMS covers Interstate 20 in Taliaferro County could bring in other types of casualties in large numbers.

Bailey said he will use what he has learned to train other Wills staff members, and that all staff members will be going through basic incident command system training, and that supervisors and emergency room personnel will take in-depth classes online.

"We're constantly learning better ways to do what we're doing," Bailey said, "and we're working to be ready, trained, and prepared before a disaster hits."