St. Joseph’s Hospital hosted multiple local agencies along with the United States 4th WMD-CIVIL SUPPORT TEAM, NRAD, CRT, and Department of Energy for an exercise to prepare for the release of radiation still in use in some medical equipment. The Source being a cesium-137, mimicking older equipment that is still used in some hospitals across America.
Hospital Staff alerted to signs of exposure, prompting a response from fire department for assistance. Upon arrival and the determination of radiation, Fire relayed need for EM staff for additional teams for radiation detection and mitigation. Fire staff go into rescue and general evacuation process. CST team, NRAD team responded and debriefed.
Over 75 Responders participated in Decon, triage and patient transport to other hospitals including Memorial Health and Candler Hospital for continuation of care. Responders localize the radiation sources and determine mitigating factors until teams can remove the source.