Exercises 2011-2012

Local Emergency Planning Committee for the City of Holyoke, MA

The Boston University HEM program conducted an exercise for the Local Emergency Planning Committee for the City of Holyoke, MA. The exercise was a cyber attack on the power grid for the region and required the collaboration of public and private sector entities. The City Gas and Electric worked with ISO New England to discuss response and communication protocol with City Public Safety Officials. HEM Students Jon Hartenbaum, Josh Margulies and Dickens Pierre Louis were on site as evaluators and role players as members of the media. Several key items were learned and the exercise finished with a live press conference to test the Public Information Officer cell. The object of the exercise was to develop protocols among the various public and private sector utility companies in the case of a cyber attack.

The Boston University HEM program conducted an exercise in which HEM students opened an animal shelter to a small area of the South End in Boston during a power outage. HEM Students played the roles of Animal Shelter Branch Director, Public Information Officer, Animal Security, Animal Registration & Tracking, and Animal Sheltering and Animal Vaccine & Medical Units. Students took six (6) animals (stuffed animals) into the shelter and a YouTube video of the operation was produced (link forthcoming). At one point the HEM program had three (3) modes of live broadcasting operational for remote students, including a live feed of the Animal Security Unit, which was remotely monitored.

Operation Silent Angels is a HSEEP Drill involving the evacuation of two infantsimulators from the Level III NICU to special operations vehicles from Boston EMS.
For this drill, the Boston University HEM Program partnered with Boston EMS and Boston Medical Center. This was an HSEEP drill that evacuated two (2) infant simulators from the Level III Boston Medical Center NICU to awaiting ambulance and special operations vehicles from Boston EMS. The drill was a success for all involved and solidified emergency preparedness procedures for the Boston Medical Center. The drill was developed by HEM Exercise Design Course Instructors JJ Burke and Greg Bond. The drill also unveiled the HEM Video and Social Media Unit which utilized HD flip cams and the new IPAD 3 to present an after action video.

In Operation Yawkey, Boston University Healthcare Emergency Management (BU HEM) Program assisted Boston Medical Center (BMC) in testing the continuity of operations and logistics coordination of BMC with several neighborhood health clinics, including East Boston, South Boston, Roslindale and Dorchester. BU HEM students were assigned as scribes at each table and provided key notes to be used in the after action report. BU HEM also instituted a Documentation Officer for exercises to handle the notes for the BMC Exercise Controller.

Sponsored by: LA County EMSA, Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, and BU HEM Program

This tabletop exercise tested the capability of the hospitals in Los Angeles County, California, to handle the sudden death of a hospital staff member. The exercise was completed twice in Los Angeles County at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, and enabled the functional use of the Employee Health Branch in the Hospital Incident Command System, which is being reviewed by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority for inclusion in the 2012 Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) revision. Exercise attendees comprised staff from several Los Angeles County hospitals whose jobs require direct involvement in employee health and recovery. There were 28 participants in the exercise, including Sandra Shields, Disaster Mental Health Coordinator for the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Authority. Post-exercise, participants reflected on the many lessons learned, and made plans to apply this new knowledge to the continued work on this vital project, developed initially in the Boston University Healthcare Emergency Management Program.

This functional exercise required graduate students in the BU HEM program to conduct two of their classes remotely, without the use of our regular virtual classroom technologies or the physical classroom itself. The exercise required students to present their IAP projects so that remote students could watch and grade them accordingly. The Command Center’s Special Projects Branch was activated and allowed CCS, a New Hampshire-based company, to test out their new mobile SMART Board as part of the exercise. This exercise challenged the students’ ability to work within the confines of the incident command system and make use of innovative technologies for communication. The students performed outstandingly and achieved all objectives set forth.

This tabletop exercise tested the capability of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to respond to a water distribution emergency in the City of Chelsea. The exercise forced the activation of Continuity of Operations Plans for many Chelsea agencies, including the Department of Public Works, Fire Department, and School Department. The objective of the exercise was to test the abilities of responding agencies to work within the confines of a unified incident command structure. All 29 participants – representing both local and state agencies – worked together to resolve the posed challenges, which included dealing with the public utility issue, laboratory testing delays, and effective communication to the public.

On September 28, 2011, the Healthcare Emergency Management Program participated in Operation “Muffin Top”, a table top exercise planned and run by JJ Burke, BU HEM faculty. The scenario was a chemical spill at a local factory. Participants included Chelsea Fire Dept, Chelsea Police Dept, Chelsea EMS, Chelsea Public Health, Cataldo Ambulance Services and private companies. The after action report was written collaboratively by JJ Burke and Tori Jensen, a BU HEM student.