Staff from all departments throughout the hospital participated in a major emergency response drill to test the hospital’s preparedness for a mass casualty incident (MCI).
The drill simulated a missile strike on a high-rise residential tower in a Jerusalem neighbourhood, resulting in over 100 people being transferred to the hospital in a short space of time.
The exercise was designed to test the hospital systems for admitting, triaging and treating a large number of patients presenting with a wide variety of injuries. It was coordinated by Shaare Zedek’s Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Unit, together with first responders.
Shaare Zedek Director General Professor Ofer Merin, commented,
“Our goal is to be ultimately prepared for whatever could possibly occur. We know that mass casualty incidents can occur at all times, but certainly the current security environment demands that we be even more prepared. This drill saw the participation of hundreds of hospital staff members from all departments, and will provide us with many key takeaways that we will now be able to implement. While we hope and pray for quieter days ahead, our mandate is to be ultimately prepared for all types of emergency scenarios.”
Sarah Goldberg, Deputy Director General for Nursing at Shaare Zedek and the hospital’s Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator added,
“Today’s drill was extremely important in ensuring that we’re ready for all types of possible events. This event was specifically intended to provide an internal review of our capabilities, so as to determine which areas we need to improve on and where we need to enhance our preparedness levels.”
