Little River Memorial Hospital in Ashdown, Ark., will sponsor a full-scale disaster drill from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. The drill is being conducted in part by TEC Solutions and the Arkansas Department of Health and is made possible by a federally funded grant.

The grant, which has already provided equipment for hospitals statewide, also funded training to prepare health care providers and first responders in terrorism response and all-hazards preparedness. Today’s drill is targeted to prepare additional responders, including health care providers and public safety organizations, in emergency preparedness.

Keri Cody, bioterrorism coordinator, said the drill will trigger the deployment of 10 simulated victims, primarily students, to Little River Memorial Hospital to test surge capacity and emergency preparedness plans.

The disaster drill will be directed and critiqued by representatives of TEC Solutions of Pine Bluff, which specializes in this type of training.

The full-scope drill offers local agencies the means to test their skills in real time, to gain the in-depth knowledge that only this type of realistic experience can provide, and to build coordinated capacity for disaster and terrorism response.