Southcoast ramps up emergency preparedness

40 employees heading to Alabama for a week-long federal training

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Some 40 employees of Southcoast Hospitals Group will be attending a week-long training in Alabama during the week of March 15 provided and fully funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Center for Domestic Preparedness.

The Noble Army Hospital in Anniston, Ala., was converted in 1998 into a training site for health and medical education in terrorism, manmade and natural disasters. The National Training Facility (NTF) is the only hospital facility in the U.S. dedicated to training hospital and health care professionals in disaster preparedness and response. The facility includes classrooms, breakout rooms, exercise/simulation areas, a resource center, computer lab and two prototype mass casualty decontamination training lanes.

"Southcoast has sent a number of individual employees to the NTF over the past five years for training with health care providers from across the country. The training this March is for Southcoast employees and will incorporate Southcoast's specific emergency preparedness plans and take into consideration natural and manmade disasters that would most likely affect our region," said Ray Price, Director of Safety & Security for Southcoast Hospitals, who will be attending the training.

The 40 Southcoast participants represent various departments across the three hospital sites, including the Emergency Departments, Radiology, Public Relations, support services, leadership and more.

"Attending trainings at the federal and state levels enable first responders to receive the most up-to-date training," Price said. "This type of training course is also attended by multidisciplinary providers such as fire service, emergency medical services, police and public health and safety officials, which promote greater understanding and communication among first responders when a disaster strikes."

Southcoast will be posting updates from the training on Twitter and Facebook throughout the week. More information on our social media channels is available online at www.southcoast.org/connect/.