Lunar Landing at Parkview? No!
Posted: 7/21/10
On a very hot afternoon, 12 Parkview employees agreed to suit up in yellow jumpsuits, bright green boots and astronaut-like head gear to take part in "DECON" training. They will be members of Parkview’s decontamination team: a vital resource in the event of an environmental, chemical, biological or nuclear disaster. In fact, team members are Parkview’s first line of defense.
The 12 work in various departments around the hospital, from plant operations and environmental services to clinical education, sleep lab, human resources, nursing, admitting, surgical services, community relations and Chaplaincy.
In a day-long training session, the group was familiarized with:
- signs and symptoms of common chemical agents and HAZMAT Agents
- how to set up a Decontamination Tent
- decontamination procedures
- how to wear and use "PPE" - Personal Protective Equipment
Should a disaster ever occur in the Greater Brunswick region and patients were brought to Parkview for treatment, the DECON team, which now includes 24 Parkview employees, would set up a special tent directly outside of the Emergency Department Ambulance entrance. Every patient would be examined thoroughly to determine his or her level of contamination and would then be decontaminated by the DECON team and deemed ‘clean’ prior to admittance into the hospital for treatment by staff waiting inside.
Again, because this is Parkview’s first line of defense, we want to thank all of the newest members and the entire DECON team for stepping forward and volunteering to help in the event of disaster.
Also, a big thanks to Jim Horan, Director of Plant Operations for organizing the training event and Howard Mette, Director of Cardio-Pulmonary at Inland Hospital, Mike Hatch, Director of Safety and Emergency Preparedness at Stevens Memorial Hospital and Steve Weymouth, Manager at Central Maine Regional Resource Center for leading the day’s training.
Click here to see photos of the training.