Note to Editors: Media can attend the drill by contacting Joyce Brennan at 508-264-2326 or pager 508-387-9605.
| Media Advisory | Contact: Joyce Faria Brennan |
| March 31, 2008 | 508-961-5270 |
| brennanj@southcoast.org | |
 Get this release in Word format |
|
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — St. Luke's Hospital will be holding an emergency preparedness drill on April 1 in the side parking lot adjacent to the Emergency Department. Patients and visitors should not be alarmed by the activity at the hospital and the number of emergency vehicles parked outside.
The drill is part of the Emergency Department's skills day and will include the deployment of the Mass Decontamination Unit and transfer of "victims" to the Emergency Department.
St. Luke's Hospital initiates several drills a year to test their emergency response systems and meet guidelines set by The Joint Commission, which requires a minimum of two drills annually per site. Joint Commission accreditation enhances an organization's performance, may be used to meet Medicare certification requirements and is recognized nationwide as a "symbol of quality."
The Southcoast Hospital Group's Emergency Preparedness Committee involves local agencies and other organizations as part of the drills to test response systems, communication and work collaboratively with the community during an emergency.
Please call Joyce Brennan on the day of the drill if you plan on attending.
About Southcoast
Southcoast Health System is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals that make up Southcoast Hospitals Group — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty and heart rhythm services, neurosurgery, weight loss surgery, orthopedic surgery and advanced imaging services. Southcoast is a not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of the community to provide services.
More information is available onlinwww.southcoast.org.
Media Contact
Joyce Faria Brennan
Public Information Officer
Phone: 508-961-5270
Pager: 508-387-9605
Fax: 508-961-5876
brennanj@southcoast.org
