Preparedness Solutions

Hospital Decontamination and Mass Casualty Response

Course Description:
The Hospital Decontamination and Mass Casualty Response course is designed to increase the level of knowledge that
Emergency Providers face patients that have become exposed to hazardous substances including Hazardous Materials
(HazMat) and Weapons of Mass Destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear contaminants). Participants will
learn; a proper medical approach to mass casualty incidents, hospital decontamination responsibilities, personal protective
equipment, personal and patient decontamination, and contamination avoidance. Our classroom topics include but are not
limited to; trends indicating a terrorist event, Decontamination Team make-up and facility protection. A full scale exercise
includes the wear of personal protective equipment (PPE), decontamination equipment set up and complete decontamination
exercise. Course curriculum has been developed in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) and the Joint Commission (JC) guidelines and recommendations.

Objectives:

Describe the purpose of hospital decontamination teams

Examine potential consequences of exposure to hazardous agents (Including the risk to ED personnel)
Discuss the primary role and responsibilities of hospital decontamination teams, including the nursing staff and
other personnel
Describe five (5) levels of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for personnel on the decontamination team
Demonstrate the proper Donning and Doffing PPE
Differentiate the most common signs and symptoms of exposure to hazardous substances
Specify roles & responsibilities of the First Receiver (as defined by OSHA)
Describe how to develop a Hospital Risk and Vulnerability Assessment for your hospital
Identify Mass Casualty Incident (MCI)Triage Techniques (to include START or SMART)
Discuss the local First Responders field triage and techniques
Identify if patient decontamination has been performed
Identify the differences between adult and pediatric triage.

Agenda:
8:00 AM 12:00 PM
Classroom Instruction and Discussion
12:00 PM 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM 2:00 PM
Classroom Instruction and Full Scale Exercise Set-up
2:00 PM 6:00 PM
Decontamination Exercise
(Exercise may be deferred to Day 2 due to time constraints)

Target Audience:
All Licensed and non-licensed personnel who could be potentially directly involved during a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI)
dealing with Hazardous Materials or a WMD event, members assigned to a facility decontamination team. It is further
recommended by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 that: All employees with designated roles in the Hospital Decontamination Zone.
This group includes, but is not limited to: Decontamination staff, including decontamination victim inspectors; clinicians who
will triage and/or stabilize victims prior to decontamination; security staff [e.g., crowd control and controlling access to the
emergency department (ED)]; set-up crew; and patient tracking clerks.

Certifications:
The Hospital Decontamination and Mass Casualty Response course meets certification requirements at the operations level in
accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 First Receiver competencies.
This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Texas Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the
American Nurses Credentialing Centers Commission on Accreditation for 8.58 CEHs.

Enviromed Resources: Phone 210.385.4656 Fax 210.433.5212 www.enviromedresources.com