Officials Report Success at Emergency Preparedness Exercise

TYLER � Tyler Emergency Management officials exercised the City�s Emergency Management Plan Tuesday to evaluate agency preparedness and interagency communications, and they say the effort was a success. Representatives with the Tyler Fire Department and the Tyler Police Department coordinated with the local medical community to exercise various aspects of each agency�s emergency plan.

The exercise focused on a mock severe weather-related event. Participating agencies included East Texas Medical Center, Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics, UT Health Northeast, City of Tyler Emergency Management, the Northeast Texas Public Health District, the Piney Woods Regional Advisory Council � Area G, and Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital/HealthSouth.

While each agency had specific goals that addressed issues related to that agency�s emergency plans, the overall exercise allowed all agencies to evaluate communications and interaction between various entities, according to a news release. Additionally, the City was able to test its ability to relay emergency information to the public using social media, the City�s website, and the local government access channel 3. Representatives with each agency will participate in a post-incident critique next week to discuss the exercise, with the goal of highlighting specific areas that worked efficiently, along with identifying issues that can be improved upon.