Community Corner
Disaster Drill to Take Place in Downtown Worcester
On Tuesday, September 20 a large scale disaster drill with approximately 200 actors portraying victims will take place at the DCU Center.
From the DCU Center:
On Tuesday, September 20, 2016, a large scale disaster drill with approximately 200 actors portraying victims, will take place at the DCU Center in Worcester. The Convention Center will serve as the epicenter for the simulated disaster, Operation Central Shield. Live actors will be triaged on scene by first- response agencies, a number of whom will be transported to the three Worcester hospitals where in-hospital Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) management will be exercised.
This drill is an important step to protect our community and achieve a robust, effective response to a large-scale, multi-casualty event. Agencies in the City of Worcester will participate in this simulated event to exercise and assess the capability of the Central Massachusetts Region to respond effectively to a Mass Casualty Incident.
“Unfortunately, such events are not only tragic but increasingly common,” said John Broach, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Disaster Medicine & Emergency Management at University of Massachusetts Medical School. He continued, “No community can ignore the need to prepare for a violent incident and ensure that it is ready to respond.”
Operation Central Shield will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. on September 20 and conclude at 5:00 p.m. A disaster research lab will take place in the hours leading up to the start of the MCI drill and will include filming and technology to monitor and record the incident.
No road closures or interruptions to downtown businesses are anticipated, but the public may see or hear emergency and first-response vehicles enter and exit the DCU Center from Commercial Street and Major Taylor Boulevard.
Media is invited to attend and cover the event. Please contact Amy Peterson at apeterson@dcucenter.com to RSVP.
Participating Agencies include: UMass Emergency Medicine, Division of Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness; UMass Emergency Medicine, Division of Emergency Medical Services; Massachusetts Central Region Homeland Security Council; Worcester Emergency Medical Services; Worcester Fire Department;, Worcester Police Department; Worcester Division of Public Health; Worcester Emergency Management; MA Region 2 CMED; UMass Memorial Medical Center; ; UMass Medical School; St. Vincent Hospital; MedStar Ambulance; Vital Emergency Medical Services; Boylston Fire Department; West Boylston Fire Department; Clinton FD, DCU Center and Quabbin Healthcare Consulting.
Image via Shutterstock
