Erie County Healthcare Facilities, First Responders, Agencies Join Forces for 2017 Safety Tabletop Exercise

(October 31, 2017 - Sandusky, Ohio) – More than 18 agencies and businesses came together on Thursday, October 19 to participate in the 2017 Erie County Tabletop Exercise at Firelands Regional Medical Center. The exercise was geared towards hospitals, healthcare partners, first responders and county agencies who may be involved in a hospital evacuation. The exercise was funded by the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) grant and developed in conjunction with the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio.

The 96 individuals who attended the event discussed how they would work together to evacuate Firelands Regional Medical Center or other area healthcare facilities in scenarios such as natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, bomb threats or explosions, a major fire or a utility failure. Major topics of discussion included communication between agencies, access to resources to move a large numbers of patients, having a unified command to direct the incident, and tracking of patients as they are moved to staging locations and other facilities. The Firelands Code Yellow Evacuation Plan, Ohio Fire Chief’s Emergency Response Plan and capabilities of the American Red Cross were discussed. This discussion-based exercise was designed to prepare the group for a full scale exercise that is planned later in the year.

Participants included Firelands Regional Medical Center, O.E. Meyer, Milan Township Fire Department, Ohio Veterans Home, Parkvue, Stein Hospice, Perkins Fire and Police Departments, Erie County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Point Police Department, Genacross, the American Red Cross, the FBI, Margaretta Township Fire Department, Erie County Health Department, Ohio Fire Chief’s Emergency Response Plan, Sandusky Fire and Police Departments, Family Health Services and the Erie County Emergency Management Office.