Renal failure patient Wayne Ford looked healthy for a man with his condition. He also looked liked a young woman. “Wayne Ford,” purportedly 73, was actually nursing student Shallon Pickering, 28, of Myrtle Creek, who played the part of an older male patient Thursday in an emergency drill at Mercy Medical Center. At 2 p.m., Mercy staff members were told to evacuate patients from the third floor as fast as possible. The “patients” were actually Umpqua Community College nursing students. Some were secured in chairs equipped with treads for rolling rapidly down stairs. Others were taken on sleds under their …


