A Mile from the Finish Line: When the Hospital Closest to the Boston Marathon Explosions has to Evacuate Its Emergency Department
Robert Osgood, Tufts Medical Center
Horacio Hojman, Tufts Medical Center

Format: Audio MP3 Download: $18
Audio Compact Disc: $23

Tufts Medical Center, approximately one mile from the Boston Marathon Finish Line, considers the annual event to be a "planned mass-casualty." Preparations begin months in advance: internally, engaging multi-disciplinary workgroups involving senior leaders, clinical, support, and communications staff; externally, working within the city's academic medical center umbrella group, to coordinate with municipal agencies, public health, Boston EMS, and the Boston Athletic Association. Most years, the brings throngs of dehydrated and exhausted runners to the doorstep of Tufts; however, when the 2013 Boston Marathon was marred by the detonation of improvised explosive devices, Tufts went from partial to full Incident Command activation and began preparing the facility to accept multiple trauma patients. Less than 130 minutes after the explosions, Boston Police forced the evacuation of Tufts MC Emergency Department because of a suspicious package. Unable to use its primary evacuation location, members of the Emergency Dept. and the support staff evacuated to the hospital's main lobby, seamlessly caring for patients throughout the event. This session will address the after-action items, success of training and exercise, evacuation logistics, communication takeaways, shifting of objectives, and the importance of early collaborative internal and external planning. Also discussed will be how the events at Tufts Medical Center on April 15th, 2013, incorporated major elements of NFPA 101, NFPA 99, and NFPA 1600.