Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital recently conducted a large-scale exercise to test its emergency response to a hypothetical radiological incident. The scenario involved a FedEx truck accident carrying radiological material with the driver injured and radiological contamination detected.
The exercise aimed to prepare staff and hospital facilities for such incidents by using a mannequin to simulate a real-life contaminated patient. It involved multiple teams including Temple’s Emergency Department, Nursing, Nuclear Medicine, Temple Transport Team (T3), as well as Montgomery County and the City of Philadelphia’s emergency management agencies.
Jeffrey Dever, Temple University Hospital-Main Campus’ Manager of Emergency Preparedness, designed the simulation drawing on his experience in Wake County, North Carolina. “This exercise drew on my previous experience as an Emergency Manager in Wake County, North Carolina,” Dever explained. He further emphasized the importance of such drills, stating that “our Emergency Management team is in a place to conduct more functional exercises to test our experience and our plans.”
The preparation included providing First Receiver Training through Temple’s Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) Department and conducting tabletop exercises on the Incident Command System for administrators.
During the exercise on April 1, the T3 transferred the simulated patient to the decontamination room where Maria Meinel, Temple Health’s Manager of Nuclear Medicine, used a Geiger counter to detect and decontaminate the radiological material. A debrief was conducted at the Command Center post-exercise.
Reflecting on the event, Dever stated, “I thought it went very well.” He acknowledged the need for further training but expressed satisfaction with the exercise’s execution, emphasizing patient and staff safety as a top priority. “Throughout my career, I’ve found that the best way for people to learn is just to get out there and do it,” Dever remarked.
Dever intends to conduct similar exercises every two years at each facility within the Health System, with the aim of improving emergency preparedness. “I’m open to any calls and questions from our staff and providers about emergency preparedness,” he said, expressing his willingness to collaborate to enhance the preparedness of Temple Health.
