Project Overview

Hazardous materials incidents require rapid coordination between healthcare organizations, hazardous materials teams, emergency management, public health, EMS, and fire departments.

I planned and facilitated a regional tabletop exercise centered on a large-scale chemical release that challenged participants to coordinate patient care, decontamination operations, resource management, communication, and public messaging.

The Challenge

Chemical incidents present unique operational challenges, including:
-Decontamination.
-Patient surge.
-Hospital coordination.
-PPE requirements.
-Environmental hazards.
-Public information.
-Long-term recovery.

The exercise needed to evaluate both operational response and strategic decision-making across multiple agencies.

My Approach

Responsibilities included:
-Designing the hazardous materials scenario.
-Coordinating regional planning meetings.
-Developing exercise documentation.
-Facilitating multidisciplinary discussions.
-Evaluating response capabilities.
-Leading After-Action Reviews.
-Developing Improvement Plans.

Results & Impact

The exercise strengthened regional preparedness by improving communication, clarifying organizational roles, and enhancing coordination among healthcare organizations, hazardous materials teams, emergency management, and public safety agencies.

Skills Demonstrated:
-Hazardous Materials Preparedness
-Exercise Design
-Multi-Agency Coordination
-Emergency Planning
-Healthcare Preparedness
-HSEEP
-Stakeholder Facilitation
-Improvement Planning

Key Takeaways

Chemical emergencies demand coordinated planning long before an incident occurs. This exercise strengthened regional readiness by improving collaboration, validating response procedures, and identifying practical opportunities to enhance hazardous materials preparedness.