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Beebe Healthcare’s nighttime Disaster Drill rescheduled to Wednesday, November 11, due to heavy rain

Staff from Beebe Healthcare and local and state first responders will take part in a drill Wednesday evening, November 11, 2015, at the Medical Center in Lewes designed to test and ensure readiness in case of a helicopter crash.

The drill was rescheduled from Monday evening due to the forecast of heavy rain to begin in the early evening.

Helicopters regularly take off and land at the Lewes campus while transporting patients. The scenario of Wednesday’s drill, which will take place in the darkness at 7:30 p.m., will be a helicopter crash on the Medical Center’s rooftop landing pad. Among those agencies taking part in the exercise with Beebe will be:

  • Lewes Fire Department
  • Sussex County Emergency Medical Services
  • Sussex County Emergency Operations Center
  • Delaware State Police Aviation and Troopers
  • Christiana Care LifeNet Air-Medical Transport

As part of the training exercise, onlookers will see and hear helicopters hovering, fire trucks, paramedic vehicles and ambulances. During the drill, the Medical Center will continue to operate normally and patient care will not be affected.

“It is of the utmost importance that we are prepared for any disaster that may impact our hospital and our community,” says Cheryl Hopple, RN, CHEP, Emergency Management Coordinator for Beebe Healthcare. “While we expect that this drill may create some noise and disruption in the City of Lewes for a short period of time in the evening, drills like this hone the skills and readiness of the emergency personnel who are here to serve all of those in our community.”

Beebe Healthcare is a not-for-profit community healthcare system with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health for the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. It offers services throughout Southern Delaware for residents and visitors, including a 210-licensed-bed hospital, a cancer center, and outpatient facilities providing walk-in care, lab, imaging, and physical rehabilitation services. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebehealthcare.org.