Hospital holds mock chemical emergency
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 24, 2005 1:45 PM
About 45 "patients" involved in a mock chemical accident Thursday were treated at Wayne Memorial Hospital as part of a disaster drill, held to evaluate the hospital's readiness for a chemical emergency.
Amy Cain, director of public relations for the hospital, said that several emergency services agencies participated in the drill.
The premise for the drill was a disgruntled trucker who sprayed poison on his load of poultry to get revenge on the company he worked for and then got the chemicals on himself. The truck was involved in an accident as a result.
Mrs. Cain said the hospital's hazardous materials team was called upon to respond to the accident scene, securing the area and taking steps to prevent the contamination from spreading.
"They had to go through a 'human car wash' at least twice to decontaminate the scene before the 'patients' could be treated at the hospital," Mrs. Cain said.
"It's a learning experience," she said. "It's a wonderful tool for us to figure out how well we did, what we would do differently, in ways to improve upon our disaster plan before a real disaster happens."