Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
overload or “surge capacity” and communicate
with Department of Public Health (DPH) and other
resources to assist in mitigation and recovery.
Hartford Hospital played an integral role in the
planning, implementation and evaluation of this
exercise as a Center of Excellence for Bioterrorism
Preparedness and we are proud to have participated
in such an important event.
Hartford Hospital responded to the simulated
attacks by activating internal emergency response
plans, performing decontamination procedures,
and collaborating in an EOC to make neces-
sary operational decisions in the event that this
was a real emergency. Hartford Hospital worked
with the State of Connecticut DPH, the Capitol
Region Emergency Planning Committee, and our
14 emergency preparedness partner hospitals in the
northern tier of Connecticut for communications
and resource allocation.
Overall, Hartford Hospital's response to the Top
Off 3 exercise was a success. Clearly, there are
specific areas that are in need of improvement,
however, the fact that these areas have been identi-
fied and will process improvement initiatives will
be developed secondary to our findings, adds to its
success.
Several weeks prior to Top Off 3, strategic plan-
ning meetings were held with several departments
to review hospital objectives for the exercise, the
respective department's response and barriers that
may exist which may hinder that response. All HH
Departmentsdirectlyand/or indirectly involvedwith
theexercisemet individuallyandcollaborativelyand
they include: the Departments of Trauma & Emer-
gency Medicine, Surgery, Hospital Administration,
Anesthesia, Fire and Safety, Facilities, Planning,
Engineering, Business Development & Commu-
nity Relations, Telecommunications, Security,
MIS, Biomedical Engineering, Bed Management,
Materials Management, Pharmacy, Laboratory,
Infectious Disease, Occupational Medicine,
EMS Education, Nursing, Pastoral Care, and
the Institute of Living.
Open information sessions were also held for
hospital employees in addition to published articles
in the “Rxtra Newsletter” prior to this exercise.
Educational programs such as the HEICS and
“Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICS)” and “Toxic
Industrial Materials (TIMS)” course were held here
at Hartford Hospital in preparation for the Top Off
exercise.
The Top Off 3 exercise allowed the various
Departments the opportunity to review, test
and evaluate their respective plans and how
they integrate with the entire facility during an
emergency. As mentioned in previous sections,
many wonderful recommendations came out of
this drill as we move forward into the process
improvement initiatives. The following table
details the recommendations that were made and
the departments that must play an integral role in
coordinating this process. Once a department iden-
tifies that they are accountable to follow up on a
recommendation, they should convene a meeting
with key individuals in the institution who will
assist them in developing objectives, strategy, and
timelines to fulfill these obligations.
All recommendations will be detailed
in a progress report format in order to
track the improvements. Any recommenda-
tion that requires greater resources will be
carried over to the After Action Reports for
subsequent drills (Figure 22.7).
22.5 Conclusion
The acute care hospital in the post 9-11 era must be
cognizant of the fact that the paradigm has changed
and that emergency management planning must
take a higher priority in the strategy of the organi-
zation. The hospital must perform comprehensive
HVAs, it must develop or enhance its emergency
management plans around the HVAs. The drills
that are required twice annually must reflect a real-
istic scenario based upon the results of the HVA.
In planning for the large-scale drill, the hospital
must assure that its staff members are trained
to the new expectations including donning and
doffing personal protective equipment, monitoring
and identifying potentially life-threatening hazards,
technical and gross decontamination and contain-
ment of an incident outside of the hospital facility.
Concepts such as “surge capacity,” “perimeter
control and lockdown,” “worried and concerned”
