The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
50°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Mock medical drill Wednesday in Spokane

Christa Arguinchona demonstrates some of the personal protective equipment (PPE) that is used in the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center’s new “special pathogens unit” to treat highly infectious diseases like Ebola. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Rachel Alexander rachela@spokesman.com(509) 459-5406

If you see medical providers in space suits swarming Spokane International Airport on Wednesday, don’t panic. It’s just a drill.

Spokane will participate in a federal preparedness drill called Tranquil Terminus, which includes a fully equipped cargo plane from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Boeing 747 is scheduled to land at the airport around 1 p.m. with four mock patients on board. Two of those patients will be transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center’s special pathogens unit, one of only 10 special units in the U.S. designed to treat infectious diseases like Ebola.

The aircraft is scheduled to leave Spokane at 3 p.m.