“Critically ill but contaminated patients could arrive at your hospital any of the
day or night with no warning following an industrial, agricultural, or transportation
accident or a deliberate act of terrorism. 

Are you prepared to provide the care they need without endangering your staff
or chancing the shut-down of your facility because of chemical or radiological contamination?”

Don't miss this opportunity to participate in a statewide program for
disaster preparedness and response training!

AUDIENCE
All hospitals in South Carolina should schedule this training for their decontamination teams.

GOAL
The hospital decontamination team will demonstrate the skill and confidence necessary to safely and effectively decontaminate patients exposed to chemical, radiological, or biological agents prior to their entry into the hospital.

OBJECTIVES
The program has twelve behavioral objectives. Some objectives involve hospital personnel who are not actual members of the decon team. These include members of the management team, employee health, maintenance, building and grounds, security and others. Achievement of all objectives is necessary for the success of the decontamination team.

Some of the objectives must be achieved in advance of the actual training day. South Carolina AHEC will consult with the hospital to facilitate these preparations.

The twelve objectives are briefly summarized as follows:

* Appropriate Decon Team Selection
* OSHA Mandated Annual Physicals
* Appropriate Selection of Decon Site
* Choosing Appropriate Equipment
* Applying HICS Principles
* Set Up Equipment
* Provide OSHA Mandated Pre-entry Physicals
* Donning Personal Protective Equipment
* Procedures for Ambulatory, Non-ambulatory, and Technical Decontamination
* Monitor Effectiveness of Decon
* Demobilize: Clean-up, Doff Personal Protective Equipment, Exit Physicals, Debrief, Documentation
 
ENDORSEMENT & FUNDING
This South Carolina AHEC program is endorsed by South Carolina DHEC and the SC Hospital Association. Training cost available upon request.

NATIONAL STANDARDS
The program teaches a national standard, established by the “B461 - Hospital Emergency Response Training (HERT) for Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) Train-the-Trainer Course” taught by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), US Department of Homeland Security, at the Noble Training Center, Anniston, Alabama.

In consideration of the hospitals’ limited training time, South Carolina AHEC condensed the classroom didactics of B461, but retained all of the skills and behavioral competencies of the national standard. This allows hospital employees to acquire all of the necessary practical skills in one intense training day. **FEMA B461 Course Completion Certificates are not issued.

SOUTH CAROLINA AHEC TEACHING STAFF
The Course Director is Ralph Shealy, M.D. Dr. Shealy is an emergency physician with extensive experience in Hazardous Materials operations. He is a certified Hazardous Materials Technician. Each AHEC trainer for this program has attended B461 in Anniston and has been certified by FEMA as a HERT trainer, or has demonstrated training and experience that vastly exceeds this standard.

A minimum of three trainers is required to present the South Carolina AHEC HERT Program to a class of twelve. For larger groups, a ratio of four students to one trainer is typical. Pre-registration is required to achieve this standard. In order to provide consultation services to hospital management extending beyond the scope of B461, the lead instructor at each course will typically have extensive experience in actual hazardous material operations.

EQUIPMENT
Trainers will use equipment currently owned by the hospital in the HERT course. South Carolina AHEC equipment will be used to supplement hospital equipment when needed and to demonstrate alternative methods.

EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
The program uses the same evaluation methodology used in the American Heart Association CPR and ACLS courses and the American College of Surgeons ATLS course.

SIGNIFICANCE OF COURSE
This is believed to be the first instance of a statewide training effort utilizing a national standard to adapt the methods of the industrial and public safety hazardous materials (Haz-Mat) team for hospital personnel to perform in the hospital environment for the benefit of contaminated patients and to protect hospital patients, staff, and facilities.