Hospital Mass Decontamination
On any list of prime terrorist targets in the U.S. Los Angeles usually ranks with Washington, DC and New York City. To be prepared for any eventuality, Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency set out to train each of its hospitals to carry out mass decontamination.
With nearly 100 hospitals in the county, the task of training 10,000 staff members was an enormous undertaking. The agency turned to Emergency Film Group with its problem. The solution was an eight-hour course of instruction designed to provide OSHA-mandated operations level training to those personnel who are known collectively as Hospital First Receivers.
At the core of the training package were five videos produced by Emergency Film Group: “Understanding Weapons of Mass Destruction,” “The Hospital Emergency Incident Command System,” “Protective Clothing & Equipment,” “Patient Decontamination,” and “Exercises.” Each video was the kick-off for a block of instruction outlined in the “Leader’s Guide,” and supported by a “Student Workbook,” both texts written and produced by Emergency Film Group.
Shooting for the series took place over a week and a half on location in the Los Angeles Area at various hospitals in the system. Hospital staff and Los Angeles County firefighters played the role of the emergency workers, while victims were drawn from the immense Los Angeles acting pool. Gordon Massingham directed for Emergency Film Group from scripts written by Phil Currance. Jim Simeone was director of photography. The Emergency Film Group’s technical committee for the project included Zachary Goldfarb, Paul Penn and Dr. Paul Rega .