WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --
Nine emergency response organizations, six hospitals and five local
ambulance companies took part in an exercise to test the National Disaster
Medical System (NDMS) here on June 6.
The exercise scenario involved how to handle the chain of events
resulting from a cataclysmic 7.5 magnitude earthquake effecting the Connecticut
River Valley and Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties. The earthquake
resulted in thousands of deaths, injured requiring medical attention, and
displaced medical patients from hospitals in the surrounding area.
The exercise tested the procedures to receive, triage, treat, transport,
and maintain accountability of patients to and from the Federal Coordinating
Center to NDMS treatment facilities within a 500-mile radius. For the purposes
of the exercise, the FCC was located inside the Base Hangar.
“The exercise will provide area emergency responders with an
opportunity to test our procedures, hone our communication abilities with one
another, and prepare as much as possible for a contingency operation involving
medical assets in our region,” said Duane Gill, Associate Director of the
Veterans Association for Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System and
the Federal Coordinating Officer for this exercise.
All nine organizations involved assisted in the medical evacuation
operations by utilizing state and local air and ground transportation assets to
transport casualties requiring medical care. Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules from
Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., and Massachusetts National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopters also took part.
“It was great to learn how we work together and put plans into actual
use,” said Lisa Daniels, emergency medical technician with the Disaster Medical
Assistance Team 1. “I’ve never even seen a helicopter before. It was a good
exercise and a lot of fun,” she said.
More than one year of planning went into putting this exercise
together. Many of the organizations held their own table-top discussions and
computer-based trainings leading up to this event.
“The biggest hurdle in these types of events is interagency
cooperation,” said Keith Lindsay, Commander of the DMAT-1 team. “This is
important when dealing with local, state and federal organizations.”
Reservists from the 439th aeromedical staging and evacuation squadrons
also took part in loading “patients” aboard the C-130.
The exercise went smoothly. The teams were given six hours to complete
the bulk of the exercise, yet finished in approximately 90 minutes. There were
definitely some lessons learned, like how to communicate better between
agencies, but that is exactly why these organizations participate in exercises;
to improve strategy so when they are called in a time of need, they can execute
the mission successfully.
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