More than 200 people from Tennessee gathered Nov. 13-14 at Union’s Carl Grant Events Center for Tennessee’s annual Emergency Preparedness Summit.
The summit focuses on training individuals on how to recognize and handle every type of emergency by holding a series of presentations during the two-day period.
Lynn Mooney, a paramedic and Emergency Response coordinator, said he hoped participants would learn how to better prepare for emergencies.
“Our purpose is to bring everyone (all the different types of emergency responders) together, network and help people make better organized plans based on what they learn here,” Mooney said. “If we can’t plan together or train together, we can’t work together.”
Union’s nursing program was involved by helping during similar demonstrations and training exercises.
Active EMS workers and nurses oversaw Union nursing students while they took care of “wounded” civilians during live active shooter demonstrations.
Jonathan Wood, Jackson-Madison County General Hospital EMS educator, said his favorite part of the summit is teaching students and the public simple ways to stay safe.
“You never know when disaster is going to happen,” Wood said. “That’s what is so important about this summit. We are here to inform and teach people how to stay safe and, if in the case of emergencies, get safe.”
Presentation topics included how to recognize methamphetamine labs, how to prepare for tornadoes, floods and blizzards, how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond when an active shooter is on campus or in a workplace.
