Norwich — The longer Jen Clachrie played the part of an Ebola patient, the more she became cocooned within an environment of protective suits and equipment.

Around 8 a.m. Thursday, Clachrie, a registered nurse and nurse clinical educator at The William W. Backus and Windham hospitals, arrived at the Backus Hospital Family Health Center on Town Street saying she had been experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. Asked whether she had traveled recently, she answered that she had returned two days earlier from a mission trip to Liberia, one of the three West African nations where the deadly virus is at epidemic proportions. Nikole Henderson, physician’s assistant at the health center, and Janet Andrade, licensed practical nurse, then decided to isolate her in a bathroom at the clinic while they donned protective gear and contacted the “situation room” for Hartford HealthCare, the hospital network Backus is part of, for instructions.

“The drill was a surprise,” said Shawn Mawhiney, hospital spokesman.

It was the first drill at Backus involving a mock patient since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy directed all hospitals in the state on Oct. 16 to practice its procedures for caring for an Ebola patient. Other facilities in the Hartford HealthCare network would also conduct drills Thursday and today, he said.

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London also conducted a surprise drill Thursday with a mock patient, spokesman Mike O’Farrell said. The patient arrived at the hospital’s valet stand outside the Emergency Department. Staff practiced donning protective clothing and treating of the patient, including taking lab samples and packaging them for shipping and testing, he said. Ledge Light Health District was involved in the drill, and state Department of Health officials were notified.

“It was an absolutely worthwhile exercise for all involved,” O’Farrell said. “Like all drills, it was a great opportunity to put training into action. There are some minor takeaways, focused primarily on logistics and equipment. We will continue to refine the process and engage staff in training and education so we are prepared — just in case.”

At Backus, the drill involved American Ambulance, Norwich and Yantic fire departments, Norwich police, the Uncas Health District and the state Department of Public Health. Jonathan Lillpopp, regional emergency services coordinator for the state public health department, was on hand to monitor the drill.

Damian Rickard, director of emergency management and operational support for American Ambulance, said that although the chances are small that Backus or American Ambulance would have to care for an actual Ebola patient, the exercise did reveal some weaknesses in communications between the hospital and the ambulance crews and gave them a chance to practice how to put on and take off protective gear.

“It’s very valuable to test the processes and procedures,” he said, as two ambulance crew members in full-body suits sprayed one another with disinfectant in preparation for disrobing.

At the health center, licensed practical nurse Janet Andrade at first wore a thin fabric gown and face shield while caring for Clachrie, then switched to an impermeable plastic gown, face shield and protective boots that still left areas around the neck and collar uncovered. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control issued Ebola care guidelines that said no skin should be exposed for health care workers providing direct patient care. Mawhiney said the outfit worn by Andrade is considered appropriate for ambulatory outpatient settings where no direct patient care is provided. Instead, Andrade stood outside the closed bathroom door asking Clachrie questions and reassuring her until the ambulance arrived.

“At the end of the day, we’ll have a briefing to see what we did right and what we did wrong,” Mawhiney said. Making sure the right protective gear is on hand at all facilities, he said, will be one of the areas discussed.

When the ambulance arrived, Clachrie was met by crews in head-to-toe white suits and placed inside a zipped protective bag atop a covered stretcher. At the hospital, nurses in full-body gear cared for her in a room in the Emergency Department as hospital staff hung a 100-foot long, 8-foot high plastic curtain isolating the corridor around her room, and Dr. Kyle McClaine donned his protective outfit.

Mawhiney said that if a real Ebola patient came to any of the Hartford HealthCare outpatient clinics, they would probably be brought directly to a special isolation unit at Hartford Hospital rather than to Backus first. But during the drill, the mock patient had breathing problems that needed to be addressed before she could be transported. That was added to the drill scenario so that Backus Emergency Department could be involved, he said.

Clachrie said that playing the role of a patient gave her a better understanding of the patient’s perspective, and that she especially appreciated when nurses told her about the protective gear they and other staff were using.

“They explained at every step of the way,” she said.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy