Less than a day after Jerusalem experienced its first major terror attack in years, Shaare Zedek Medical Center underwent a comprehensive emergency preparedness drill, testing the hospital’s disaster response systems and its cooperation with the local and national rescue services.
Even while the drill had been planned several weeks prior to the terror attack, the experiences of the day prior drove home just how important it was for the medical community to be always ready for every eventuality.
Dr. Ofer Merin, Deputy Director General at Shaare Zedek, who supervises the hospital’s disaster response protocols, directed the drill and reported that they received high scores for excellence from the observers charged with providing grades.
The drill, like all major exercises of this nature in Israel, is coordinated and observed by the Ministry of Defense through the IDF’s Homefront Command. IDF officers are on hand in the hospital for the drill and compose the final report of recommendations based on the hospital’s performance.
The case being drilled in this event (the nature of which the hospital is given no prior notice,) involved a major bus accident involving about 80 children. The hospital was called upon to quickly triage the victims and ensure they were sent to the proper areas for treatment. It was one of the first major drills in the country that focused heavily on children as victims. The drill tested the efficiency of both the general emergency facilities in the Weinstock Department of Emergency Medicine as well as the pediatric emergency response systems in the Gluabach Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Given that the disaster involved a large number of children, who are known to be far more difficult to quickly identify, the drill placed heavy attention on coping with the aftermath of the incident and ensuring that the children were quickly and effectively reuniting them with their parents or caregivers.
One doctor observed that even while they had been preparing for weeks for the drill, the piguah (terror attack) the day before put them in a mindset that helped remind the staff that mass-casualty incidents can occur at any time. “As Jerusalem’s most centrally located hospital, we recognize that we need to be prepared at every moment for pretty much any eventuality,” the doctor said. “Whether it’s an incident that results from hostile intentions like the terror attack on Wednesday or a gas explosion or bus accident, or even an earthquake- these are all things for which we at Shaare Zedek know that we must be prepared.”
Dr. Merin thanked the staff for their strong performances in the drill and said that while he hoped that the lessons learned should never need to be implemented, they know that there exists a very real threat to the Homefront. “We are living in very tense times and know that there are many dangers that we face, so drills like this only help reassure the public and our staff that we are operating at the necessary levels of preparedness.”
