HPS students handled challenges during “Disaster Day 2.0” simulation

On Friday, November 7, 2025, the Disaster Day 2.0 simulation took place on Clifton Campus. About 60 students and faculty members representing 11 different programs in Cincinnati State’s Health and Public Safety division participated in a real-time response to a simulated active shooter scenario.

The Disaster Day drill gave students a unique opportunity to collaborate across disciplines during a simulated a real-world emergency, providing students with realistic uses of their critical thinking and clinical judgment skills while responding to a high-pressure situation.

The simulation started in a hallway and various classrooms where “victims” were assessed and then moved to emergency care or to triage for less serious wounds.

In addition to treatment for physical wounds, mental health professionals were on hand to help deal with trauma experienced by those caught up in the “disaster.” Some of the students who started their “treatments” with live volunteers completed the simulation while working with the “robot patients” available in the HPS Simulation Lab.

Students were joined by the Cincinnati State Police Department and more than 30 volunteers, including local medical professionals who supervised the drill, volunteers who served as simulated victims, and students from the College’s Audio/Video Production degree program, who recorded the event and will prepare a video “documentary.”

Spectrum 1 News covered the Cincinnati State event and shared the story statewide 18 times on Nov. 7 and 8. Click to view the news story, which includes an interview with HPS Dean Bonnie Smith, who was one of the “wounded” patients.

During the debriefing after the simulation ended, students commented on how valuable it was to collaborate with those in other majors and work together effectively when multiple skills sets were essential to patient care.

Planning is already underway for Disaster Day 3.0, scheduled for Fall of 2026. The next exercise will simulate responding to a natural disaster.