On Sunday, the Brick Township Office of Emergency Management, George Conway Apartments and Ocean Medical Center held a full-scale emergency exercise.
The exercise scenario presents a hazard that required the evacuation of the George Conway Senior Housing apartments. During the evacuation “simulated patients” had “Simulated injuries ” which required medical attention and transport to Ocean Medical Center for “simulated treatment.
The purpose of the “OPERATION BUILD A BRIDGE” exercise was to examine interactions between local and State resources during a disaster, with focus on coordination and collaboration of effectively evacuating patients from the George Conway. It also tested the local resources ability to request additional resources if such an event should occur.
Exercises are common throughout the year, and this one was one of the largest ever conducted. The care and treatment of real patients at the medical center and those in the emergency department continued as usual, without interruption of service while the exercise took place.
Ocean Medical Center has partnered with the Brick Township Police Department and the Brick Township Office of Emergency Management to conduct the exercise. Public service agencies throughout the community, Lakewood and the state also volunteered their time to participate in the exercise, which involved individuals acting as patients. Exercises of this nature help first responders, medical professionals, and administrators better prepare for a true community emergency.
“This exercise is about identifying best practices and guidelines for an organized, systematic, and safe response to a situation that may require a partial or full evacuation of a senior facility,” said Ocean Medical Center President, Dean Q. Lin, MHA, MBA, FACHE. “Ocean’s Incident Command Center will be activated to manage the response. We expect to learn many valuable lessons and identify best practices that can then be shared with other regional hospitals.”
Participation and planning of the exercisel involved the multiple additional agencies including: Brick
Township Office of Emergency Management, Brick Township Police Department, Brick Township Police EMS, Brick Township Bureau of Fire Safety, Brick Fire Companies, Brick Township C.E.R.T team, Berkeley Township Hazardous Material Response Team, George Conway administration, Ocean Medical Center Administration and assisted by numerous mutual aid EMS responders.
“Drills and exercises sharpen our skills at the all levels,” said Brick Township Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist. “The lessons learned and the practice makes the department better prepared to handle all hazards. The department has long enjoyed a great relationship with the staff of George Conway Apartments and Ocean Medical Center. The work that has gone into this drill has reinforced that relationship which results in an enhanced quality of service for all in our community.”
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