School Evacuation<\/h4>
\nOn June 9, HEM students partnered with the\u00a0Sandwich Fire Department<\/a>, Cape Cod Collaborative, and\u00a0Outerlink<\/a>\u00a0to perform an elementary school evacuation exercise of nine children with disabilities. The exercise was titled \u201cOperation S.T.A.R. Trek\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\nThis exercise served as a practice in the evacuation and transportation of nine children with disabilities from Cape Cod Collaborative elementary school to a safe offsite location. Sandwich, MA Fire Department and Police Department ran incident command, Sandwich EMTs triaged students as they arrived at the offsite location, Boston University Healthcare Emergency Medicine masters students served various roles under the Incident Commander, and Outerlink LLC supplied GPS tracking devices used to ensure that no students were unaccounted for during the exercise.<\/p>\n
“The team performance was exceptional.\u00a0 The interagency, public\/private, academic team that was created for the purposes of this exercise ran seamlessly.\u00a0 It was clear that this high-functioning team would perform just as well in a true crisis situation.\u00a0 Operation S.T.A.R. Trek can serve as a terrific national model for small-scale exercises in local communities.”
\n-Kandra Strauss-Riggs, MPH,\u00a0National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health (observer)<\/em>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nHospital Evacuation<\/h4>
\nThe Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands evacuated in simulated hurricane:
\nHospital simulation turns plan into action<\/strong>
\nBy George Brennan
\ngbrennan@capecodonline.com
\nJuly 22, 2010
\nEAST SANDWICH \u2014 Yesterday afternoon, while the sun was poking through clouds on the rest of Cape Cod, a category 2 hurricane swept through a small portion of Sandwich, causing minor damage to a hospital and injuries to patients.<\/p>\nThe mock storm, Hurricane Elaine, battered the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands with 100 mph winds. It was only a test, but emergency officials said hospital staff passed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s given us good information,\u201d said Carole Stasiowski, a spokeswoman for the hospital.<\/p>\n
During the two-hour drill, three \u201cpatients\u201d were evacuated, one with cardiac distress, and taken to Cape Cod Hospital by ambulance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evacuation was done quickly and successfully,\u201d said Stephanie Nadolny, vice president of clinical services, who coordinated the hospital\u2019s emergency command center.<\/p>\n
If a hurricane had actually been forecast, the hospital would take precautions by boarding up some windows in advance to create safe zones, said Carl Smith, facilities engineer for the hospital. Some patients would also be moved in advance to other hospitals or even sent home if they\u2019re able, said director of nurses Martha Hunter. The \u201churricane\u201d hit just after 1 p.m. Nurses, doctors and other staff at the hospital scurried to their stations as a code was called over the intercom to alert them to the emergency. Moments later, the lights went out and an emergency generator kicked in.<\/p>\n
Patients were told about the disaster drill through signs and an announcement over the hospital\u2019s intercom system. The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands, which has beds for as many as 60 patients, held yesterday\u2019s drill in cooperation with the Sandwich Fire Department. The idea was to test its emergency plan \u2014 specifically the generator and a new radio system installed at the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number one problem in (Hurricane) Katrina was the lack of communication, especially with hospitals,\u201d said J.J. Burke, the fire department\u2019s safety officer, in outlining the reasons for the drill.<\/p>\n
Graduate students from Boston University acted as patients to test evacuation procedures. The hospital serves patients who have been seriously injured or undergone surgery before they return home. The hospital would be able to continue operating on generators, back-up communications systems and food for about a week, building manager Carl Smith said. Extra cots, linens and supplies are available at a nearby warehouse, Nadolny said.<\/p>\n
The new radio system operated by the Cape Cod Amateur Radio Emergency Service allows the hospital to stay in contact with other hospitals and agencies during a powerful storm. Among its features is the ability to send e-mail, including vital medical records, said Frank O\u2019Laughlin, district emergency coordinator.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt worked out superbly,\u201d he said after yesterday\u2019s drill.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.wickedlocal.com\/sandwich\/features\/x1981289301\/RHCI-drill-tests-hurricane-plan<\/a>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nBurlington, MA Flu Clinic<\/h4>
\nOn November 14, 2009 students of the Healthcare Emergency Management program served as the evaluation team for the Burlington Board of Health Mass Prophylaxis Exercise in Burlington, Massachusetts. The exercise was as both an opportunity for students to work in the field as evaluators, and a seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccination clinic for over 1000 people of all ages.<\/p>\n\u201cI am very grateful that the program was there to evaluate. The students were professional, polite, cooperative and helpful. Having the hotwash immediately after the event was helpful and provided us with insights we don\u2019t usually get. It was great to have a set of independent eyes\u201d
\n\u2013 Sharon Walker Mastenbrook, MA, MS, RS\/REHS, Director of Public Health, Burlington Board of Health
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
George Mason University H1N1 Workshop<\/h4>
\nOn November 20, 2009, the Healthcare Emergency Management program participated in Communicating Influenza Vaccination Evidence and Knowledge Base, a workshop hosted by George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The HEM program sent two professors and two masters students to the workshop.<\/p>\nAlong with representatives from NASA, ISMR, Inova Health Systems and the CDC, our students participated in panel discussions and provided a critical paper on Mandating Vaccinations.
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Drive-Thru Flu Clinic<\/h4>
\nThe Indian Health Services and the Colville Tribes tested a a system, developed by BU HEM researcher J.J. Burke for delivering flu shots to their communities. This system will be used as a model for delivering similar services in the case of emergency situations.
\n![\"GCD](\"\/bmcm-bfenster\/files\/2009\/12\/GCD-Star-drive-Thru-Front-Page-10-7-09-655x1023.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nOperation Gentle Voice<\/h4>
\nIn this exercise, the BU HEM program partnered with the United States Office of Minority Health and several Montgomery County, Maryland agencies on a simulated measles outbreak. The Montgomery County 311 call center was tested on its ability to process calls regarding the outbreak, which included language translation capability. The BU HEM students were role players speaking in their first language, some of which required transfer to the language line. The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management participated and the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department opened its public health command and call-taking center. The hybrid exercise tested risk communication policies and language interpretation and translation capabilities of the county.
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2496,"featured_media":0,"parent":3447,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2496"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3467"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53702,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3467\/revisions\/53702"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nOn June 9, HEM students partnered with the\u00a0Sandwich Fire Department<\/a>, Cape Cod Collaborative, and\u00a0Outerlink<\/a>\u00a0to perform an elementary school evacuation exercise of nine children with disabilities. The exercise was titled \u201cOperation S.T.A.R. Trek\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n
This exercise served as a practice in the evacuation and transportation of nine children with disabilities from Cape Cod Collaborative elementary school to a safe offsite location. Sandwich, MA Fire Department and Police Department ran incident command, Sandwich EMTs triaged students as they arrived at the offsite location, Boston University Healthcare Emergency Medicine masters students served various roles under the Incident Commander, and Outerlink LLC supplied GPS tracking devices used to ensure that no students were unaccounted for during the exercise.<\/p>\n
“The team performance was exceptional.\u00a0 The interagency, public\/private, academic team that was created for the purposes of this exercise ran seamlessly.\u00a0 It was clear that this high-functioning team would perform just as well in a true crisis situation.\u00a0 Operation S.T.A.R. Trek can serve as a terrific national model for small-scale exercises in local communities.” The mock storm, Hurricane Elaine, battered the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands with 100 mph winds. It was only a test, but emergency officials said hospital staff passed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s given us good information,\u201d said Carole Stasiowski, a spokeswoman for the hospital.<\/p>\n During the two-hour drill, three \u201cpatients\u201d were evacuated, one with cardiac distress, and taken to Cape Cod Hospital by ambulance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evacuation was done quickly and successfully,\u201d said Stephanie Nadolny, vice president of clinical services, who coordinated the hospital\u2019s emergency command center.<\/p>\n If a hurricane had actually been forecast, the hospital would take precautions by boarding up some windows in advance to create safe zones, said Carl Smith, facilities engineer for the hospital. Some patients would also be moved in advance to other hospitals or even sent home if they\u2019re able, said director of nurses Martha Hunter. The \u201churricane\u201d hit just after 1 p.m. Nurses, doctors and other staff at the hospital scurried to their stations as a code was called over the intercom to alert them to the emergency. Moments later, the lights went out and an emergency generator kicked in.<\/p>\n Patients were told about the disaster drill through signs and an announcement over the hospital\u2019s intercom system. The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands, which has beds for as many as 60 patients, held yesterday\u2019s drill in cooperation with the Sandwich Fire Department. The idea was to test its emergency plan \u2014 specifically the generator and a new radio system installed at the hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number one problem in (Hurricane) Katrina was the lack of communication, especially with hospitals,\u201d said J.J. Burke, the fire department\u2019s safety officer, in outlining the reasons for the drill.<\/p>\n Graduate students from Boston University acted as patients to test evacuation procedures. The hospital serves patients who have been seriously injured or undergone surgery before they return home. The hospital would be able to continue operating on generators, back-up communications systems and food for about a week, building manager Carl Smith said. Extra cots, linens and supplies are available at a nearby warehouse, Nadolny said.<\/p>\n The new radio system operated by the Cape Cod Amateur Radio Emergency Service allows the hospital to stay in contact with other hospitals and agencies during a powerful storm. Among its features is the ability to send e-mail, including vital medical records, said Frank O\u2019Laughlin, district emergency coordinator.<\/p>\n \u201cIt worked out superbly,\u201d he said after yesterday\u2019s drill.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.wickedlocal.com\/sandwich\/features\/x1981289301\/RHCI-drill-tests-hurricane-plan<\/a> \u201cI am very grateful that the program was there to evaluate. The students were professional, polite, cooperative and helpful. Having the hotwash immediately after the event was helpful and provided us with insights we don\u2019t usually get. It was great to have a set of independent eyes\u201d Along with representatives from NASA, ISMR, Inova Health Systems and the CDC, our students participated in panel discussions and provided a critical paper on Mandating Vaccinations.
\n-Kandra Strauss-Riggs, MPH,\u00a0National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health (observer)<\/em>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nHospital Evacuation<\/h4>
\nThe Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands evacuated in simulated hurricane:
\nHospital simulation turns plan into action<\/strong>
\nBy George Brennan
\ngbrennan@capecodonline.com
\nJuly 22, 2010
\nEAST SANDWICH \u2014 Yesterday afternoon, while the sun was poking through clouds on the rest of Cape Cod, a category 2 hurricane swept through a small portion of Sandwich, causing minor damage to a hospital and injuries to patients.<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nBurlington, MA Flu Clinic<\/h4>
\nOn November 14, 2009 students of the Healthcare Emergency Management program served as the evaluation team for the Burlington Board of Health Mass Prophylaxis Exercise in Burlington, Massachusetts. The exercise was as both an opportunity for students to work in the field as evaluators, and a seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccination clinic for over 1000 people of all ages.<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Sharon Walker Mastenbrook, MA, MS, RS\/REHS, Director of Public Health, Burlington Board of Health
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nGeorge Mason University H1N1 Workshop<\/h4>
\nOn November 20, 2009, the Healthcare Emergency Management program participated in Communicating Influenza Vaccination Evidence and Knowledge Base, a workshop hosted by George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The HEM program sent two professors and two masters students to the workshop.<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nDrive-Thru Flu Clinic<\/h4>
\nThe Indian Health Services and the Colville Tribes tested a a system, developed by BU HEM researcher J.J. Burke for delivering flu shots to their communities. This system will be used as a model for delivering similar services in the case of emergency situations.
\n<\/a>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nOperation Gentle Voice<\/h4>
\nIn this exercise, the BU HEM program partnered with the United States Office of Minority Health and several Montgomery County, Maryland agencies on a simulated measles outbreak. The Montgomery County 311 call center was tested on its ability to process calls regarding the outbreak, which included language translation capability. The BU HEM students were role players speaking in their first language, some of which required transfer to the language line. The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management participated and the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department opened its public health command and call-taking center. The hybrid exercise tested risk communication policies and language interpretation and translation capabilities of the county.
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