“What would Vital Signs response be to an emergency situation at Vermont Yankee? And how would you prioritize calls for help?”
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Although this question was posted in the comments section, it is a valid question and we’ll certainly attempt a satisfactory answer.
While Rescue Inc. has responded to medical emergencies at Entergy over the years and treats those patients as we would any other illness in the workplace, I don’t believe that this is what the writer was asking.
If there were ever to be a significant emergency situation at VY involving injury to multiple patients secondary to a safety incident, it would require numerous coordinated resources from fire departments and law enforcement as well as emergency medical services.
For our part, Rescue Inc would initially roll appropriate personnel and equipment to the situation, and initiate a request for additional providers to respond to the emergency or to our headquarters as appropriate. Furthermore, if additional ambulances were needed, those ambulances would respond from surrounding areas such as Keene, Greenfield, Wilmington under what is known as a mutual aid agreement. In addition to the above, state and federal resources would be activated as needed according to existing protocols.
An excellent example of the coordinated efforts mentioned is the tour bus accident during the winter of 2002. In this example, numerous patients were in need of transport to medical facilities. This writer couldn’t name all of the organizations that responded as I fear that I would miss one, however this incident demonstrated the efficiency and benefits of the mutual aid program. Many ambulances were dispatched directly to the scene while some were routed to standby at our headquarters in order to be available for other medical emergencies that could have occurred in Rescue’s service area during this time.
Fire departments and law enforcement agencies use the same approach in making sure that if one service (a fire department, for example) is out handling a significant call that other town’s departments back them up and either go to the scene to aid or cover the responding town’s station in the event of another, simultaneous call.
I hope this rather lengthy answer satisfies the writer’s question. Until next we meet, stay well, stay safe.
Submit your questions to info@ibrattleboro.com and put Vital Signs in the subject line.