The Northern Solano County Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Exercise was held on September 30, 2025, designed to strengthen regional disaster preparedness and interagency coordination.  This work was led by the dedicated Emergency Department Preparedness Committee. The lead staff ED nurse is Marcus Babb, BSN, RN and Nicolle A Malak, BSN, RN in partnership with the physician lead Timothy Halpin, MD.

This full-scale exercise simulated a high-impact scenario: a bus carrying 50 passengers collided with a tanker truck transporting organophosphate pesticides on Freeway 505.  Mock Patients were transported to VacaValley Hospital and Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center, testing emergency response systems under realistic conditions.

The exercise involved multiple organizations, including local hospitals, EMS, fire departments, Travis Air Force Base, and community partners. Roles include players, controllers, evaluators, actors, and support staff, all operating within a no-fault learning environment.

Following the drill, the participants engaged in Hot Wash debriefings, evaluator reviews, and development of an After-Action Report (AAR) and Improvement Plan (IP) to identify strengths and corrective actions.

Vacaville and Vallejo team members also participated in a global mass casualty drill with the United States military called “Ultimate Caduceus.” It simulated a mass casualty event oversees that required victims to be brought to the United States and distributed to hospitals.  Due to our collaboration with Travis Airforce Base, Vacaville received mock patients via Blackhawk helicopters.

These exercises are critical step toward enhancing regional readiness, improving coordination, and validating emergency response systems for mass casualty events.