Disaster drill in downtown Monterey Wednesday, Aug. 27

MONTEREY, Calif. — An unusual amount of ambulance traffic may be visible in downtown Monterey on Wednesday, Aug. 27 as Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and the city of Monterey conduct a disaster-preparedness drill.

Community Hospital and the city recently agreed that the Monterey Conference Center could be used to treat patients in an emergency. During the drill, Community Hospital will set up an alternate care site at the conference center for patients who could be moved from the hospital because of a disaster. People will not actually be moved during the drill, but ambulances and Community Hospital shuttle buses will be dispatched as if they were transporting patients. A trailer with medical equipment and supplies will also be taken from the hospital to the conference center.

The drill is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the simulated patient transport taking place in the morning. Ambulance lights and sirens will not be activated. Traffic is expected to increase but not be disruptive and no roads will be closed.

The ambulances and hospital shuttle buses will follow this route from the hospital: east on Highway 68; north on Highway 1 to the Munras Avenue exit; left on Munras; left on Soledad Drive; right on Pacific Street; right on Franklin Street; left on Alvarado Street into the Portola Plaza in front of the conference center.

Community Hospital and the city of Monterey are conducting the drill in conjunction with Monterey County and other emergency services providers. More information may be obtained by calling Community Hospital at (831) 625-4505.

Community  Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula , founded in 1934 and located at 23625 Holman Highway in Monterey , has grown and evolved in direct response to the changing healthcare needs of the people it serves. It is a nonprofit healthcare provider with 205 staffed acute-care hospital beds and 28 skilled-nursing beds, delivering a continuum of care from birth to end of life, and every stage in between. It serves the Monterey Peninsula and surrounding communities through 15 locations, including the main hospital, outpatient facilities, satellite laboratories, a mental health clinic, a short-term skilled nursing facility, Hospice of the Central Coast , and business offices. Find more information about Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula at www.chomp.org.