A massive mock disaster drill involving everyone from local police and firefighters to the Ohio National Guard recently took place on the grounds of the Ravenna Arsenal in Ohio. Called ”Talon Shield,” this three-day long full-scale major disaster response training exercise was designed to gauge the effectiveness of local and regional emergency response plans and capabilities on multiple fronts. One of the largest such exercises ever staged, it included various personnel from local morticians to rescue teams and emergency management officials to the Ohio National Guard and soldiers from West Virginia and Illinois.

The drill involved a tornado that struck the fictional town of Ravenna Falls inside the former Ravenna Arsenal and simulated the way it would be in real life. A structural collapse simulator destroyed buildings and a replicated public infrastructure, creating a huge pile of rubble and steel. Actors played the role of victims and were rescued by response personnel. Other scenarios included establishing a drinkable water supply after the disaster, setting up a mortuary to identify and accommodate the dead, handling the discovery of a huge meth lab in a populated area, and a wide area search in which badly injured victims were scattered far from the scene of the initial disaster.

The main emphasis of disaster response planning is that all emergencies are first engaged at the local level and then supported by additional outside resources as needed. One of the reasons for such a massive exercise was due to the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Real-life responses will have the local responders essentially in control, with further resources called in incrementally as needed.

Penn Care president Shawn Bryant and sales representative Grayson Root were in attendance to witness this large-scale event. Many lessons can be learned from mock disaster drills, and the staff at Penn Care regularly attends these exercises in order to keep up on new methods and technologies used in disaster response and homeland security.

Click here for pictures of the event.

The Annual Penn Care Sales Meeting was a three-day-long event held at Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio. The sales staff received specialized training, viewed sales presentations and new product demonstrations from vendors, shared new ideas and discussed industry trends.

During this event, many of our vendors gave presentations and interactive product demonstrations, highlighting the many new products and features that Penn Care has recently brought to market. Jeff Jackson and Michael Richardson set up a simulated Mortuary Enhanced Remains Cooling (MERC) System and showed how this device is revolutionizing the way that organizations handle a mass fatality incident. Kerry Halleran demonstrated several Ferno cots and stair chairs, pointing out the improved features and benefits of these industry-leading patient transport devices. Chad Brown from Braun Specialty Vehicles spent several hours with the sales staff, providing territory and funnel management training and also updating everyone on the new innovations that set Braun Ambulances apart from the competition. John Massie, President of emsCharts, gave a great speech on the sales process and got everyone involved with his informative and humorous presentation.

There were also several great presentations from the Penn Care staff, including Penn Care President Shawn Bryant, Sales Manager Taylor Pease and Sales Rep Vern Smith. Gene Bonanno and Beth Hawks from WSI stopped by to give an update on the recent advancements of the Penn Care website and online marketing strategies. Overall, the meeting was very informative and the sales staff was able to walk away from the event with a large amount of knowledge and training.

Thanks to everyone who attended this event and we look forward to working together to achieve many continued years of success!

Click here to view pictures from the meeting.

Penn Care would like to welcome the two newest additions to our sales staff. Recently joining our team are Bob Farrow and John Garner. Both of them come to Penn Care with a wealth of industry knowledge and many years of sales experience.

Bob Farrow holds the position of  Ambulance Salesman for the Western Pennsylvania region. He is responsible for selling and servicing Braun and Medix specialty vehicles to the emergency medical services industry in this territory. To contact Bob, you can reach him at 330-979-3080 or by email at bob@penncare.net.

John Garner will be working in Disaster Response Sales for the states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. John is charged with the task of promoting the Disaster Response Division of Penn Care and expanding our customer base in the southeastern United States. John can be contacted at 334-750-6181 or at john@penncare.net.

We are pleased to announce the hiring of our two newest employees and are delighted to have them aboard. Please join us in welcoming Bob and John to our sales force and feel free to contact them with any of your Ambulance or Disaster Response needs.