Operation Ready's disaster response

It wasn't a typical Saturday morning Oct. 27 when hundreds of MGHers — including nurses, doctors and staff from Environmental Services, Ambulatory Care, the Emergency Department, Police and Security, and Patient Transportation — gathered at the Main Entrance and White Ramp to receive more than 90 mock victims for a citywide disaster drill called Operation Ready. MGH staff and employees participated in the exercise that involved the simulation of two
airplanes colliding at Logan International Airport. Hospitals across the city practiced receiving the influx of victims and worked with emergency responders and drill planners from the airport, the Massachusetts Port Authority and the city to run through their respective disaster management plans.

Right, participants of Operation Ready transport mock patients.

"With a large number of victims, this exercise was an exceptional opportunity for all MGH staff to test the hospital's emergency management plans," says Craig Cochran, administrative manager for MGH Emergency Preparedness. "Among the areas that we tested were the disaster triage process, patient tracking systems and the effectiveness of the Hospital Incident Command System to initiate a rapid and coordinated response to the situation."

For more information about emergency preparedness at the MGH, contact Cochran at (617) 726-0312 or ccochran@partners.org.