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Blast off: Training prepares hospitals for disasters

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, November 18, 2005

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Representatives from 16 hospitals in Pennsylvania gathered together last month for a volatile event: a simulated formaldehyde explosion. The exercise was part of a training program intended to help area emergency responders practice for catastrophic events.

The exercise involved decontamination of so-called self-presenting patients, those who went to the hospital by themselves after the mock explosion. The decontamination process involved the "patients" proceeding through a series of stations where they took off their "contaminated" clothing and placed it in a bag, then washed, dried, and dressed in clean clothes. Washing involved just three to five minutes of intense washing with soap and water, which can cut down on the risk of contamination by 100% if done properly, training coordinator Tom Scully said in an article in the Carlisle, PA-based newspaper The Sentinel.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires that all hospitals be self-sustaining for at least 72 hours after a disaster incident, so facilities must be ready to deal with casualties and people with various medical problems afterward.

Source: The Sentinel

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