February 14, 2003

HAZMAT training prepares MGHers for emergencies

It may not be in their job descriptions to don personal protective equipment — such as face masks, breathing respirators and chemical-resistant coveralls — but a group of 66 MGHers did just that last week in a series of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) decontamination training sessions.

Comprised primarily of employees from Environmental Services, Police and Security,Emergency Services and the Safety Office, the group participated in three separate daylong training sessions to help prepare them in the event of a chemical HAZMAT emergency. The training sessions were led by Robert Castaldo, director of the MGH Environmental Health and Safety Office (shown at left), and Julia Gabaldon, the MGH emergency management coordinator. Participants learned about the hospital's newly adapted disaster response system, called Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS), and how the emergency plan is activated in a disaster.

"I am impressed by the cross-disciplinary support and teamwork being displayed by the group and their commitment to helping the hospital further develop its HAZMAT response capability," says Castaldo. "Their flexibility in fulfilling response-plan roles and the special knowledge and skills they all bring to the team are critical to our success."

The sessions specifically focused on chemical HAZMAT response, supplementing earlier efforts to address radioactive HAZMAT response. The sessions included learning how to recognize and detect hazardous materials, how to triage and decontaminate exposed patients and how to navigate patients through the hospital's decontamination process in warm and cold weather conditions.

The group also toured the hospital's decontamination room, which is located near the Emergency Department's main entrance. In addition, these employees had the opportunity to don personal protective equipment and practice decontamination techniques in the hospital's decontamination tent.These sessions, plus a training exercise held Feb. 5, also are meant to prepare these teams for a citywide HAZMAT response drill to be held Feb. 27. Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the citywide drill will include 10 Boston hospitals, including the MGH, as well as the Boston Fire Department and other local emergency response agencies. The drill is part of a larger program called the Comprehensive HAZMAT Emergency Response Capabilities Assessment Program. Above, Michael Quinn of Emergency Services, left, helps a colleague in the training session.

"We learned a great deal from the last drill we had in November," says Gabaldon. "It is vital that we continue to train our staff and employees so that we can truly be prepared in any kind of internal or external emergency."