Parrish Medical Center Stays Prepared for Every Emergency Participates in Operation Skyfall, the Nation’s Largest Medical Surge Exercise

TITUSVILLE, FLA. (April 9, 2026)—Today, Parrish Medical Center was one of 100 hospitals across Central Florida to participate in Operation Skyfall, the largest coordinated medical surge exercise in the nation.

Jointly sponsored by the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition and the Tampa Bay Health and Medical Preparedness Coalition, Operation Skyfall brought together hospitals, emergency management agencies, law enforcement, EMS, public health partners and community organizations in a full-scale mass casualty simulation designed to test and strengthen regional emergency response capabilities.

As part of the exercise, approximately 2,200 student volunteers portrayed victims with simulated injuries and were transported to participating hospital emergency departments, including Parrish Medical Center, for evaluation and treatment. The exercise also included coordination with county Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), which were activated to practice real-time response and communication during a large-scale incident.

“Preparedness is the single most important step we can take to protect our North Brevard community,” said George Mikitarian, President and CEO of Parrish Healthcare. “Exercises like Operation Skyfall allow our teams to train in realistic conditions, strengthen coordination with our area partners and ensure we are ready to respond effectively when it matters most.”

Operation Skyfall engaged healthcare facilities and emergency response partners across multiple counties, testing mass casualty and medical surge plans, communication systems and interagency coordination. The exercise reflects a shared commitment to maintaining readiness in the face of evolving threats and emergencies. To ensure realism and effectiveness, today’s large-scale exercise included:

• Moulage: The use of special effects makeup and prosthetics to create realistic injuries on actors or student volunteers.
• Triage Training: Practice using the START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) system to categorize patients into Green (minor), Yellow (delayed), Red (immediate) and Black (deceased/expectant).
• Interoperability: Testing communication and coordination between different agencies like the FBI, local law enforcement, EMS and various hospital departments.
• Incident Command System (ICS): Using a standardized management framework to coordinate the response effort.