Cape Fear Valley Medical Center will hold an outdoor exercise to test its ability to respond to severe flu outbreaks. The simulation comes in the wake of President Obama's recent designation of the H1N1 flu virus as a national emergency.

The exercise is being called "Flee the Flu Drive Thru" and will be held Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 to 8 a.m., and again from 5 to 8 p.m. Health system employees will participate by driving through the exercise in personal vehicles to simulate fast-arriving sick patients who might overwhelm the hospital's Emergency Department in a real emergency.

Traffic flow will be directed through the hospital's Walter Reed Road employee parking lot in an "S" pattern so vehicles can proceed through a series of aid stations. The stations will include registration, triage, patient education about the flu, and a final re-evaluation of participants before being released.

Employees will be given cards with fake symptoms to portray. At triage, patients who have severe symptoms will be asked to pull out of line, park and will simulate being taken to the Emergency Department for further treatment.

The exercise will serve a two-fold purpose: employees who want a seasonal flu shot, H1N1 shot, or H1N1 nasal mist spray can receive a vaccination while driving through. Cape Fear Valley has given employees approximately 4,500 combined vaccinations so far this flu season.

President Barack Obama on Friday signed an emergency declaration designating the virus a public health emergency. The declaration allows medical facilities to apply for a federal waiver to establish alternate care sites and modify patient triage protocols while responding to emergencies, such as those being simulated in Cape Fear Valley's exercise.

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predicts up to 90,000 Americans could die from the strain this year alone. Health experts are urging Americans to get vaccinated against both the H1N1 flu and regular flu.