2-Day Hospital Emergency Response Training for Weapons of Mass Destruction Events Syllabus

In response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive #8 (HSPD8), the FEMA Hospital Emergency Response Training (HERT) for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Events, is designed to provide guidance to hospitals, EMS, health care facilities and citizens who may become involved in a mass casualty incident as a result of a hazardous materials incident (HMI) or a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) event. The HERT/WMD course deals with the entire role of hospital or health care facility during a HMI or WMD event with a practical hands-on approach.

This course focuses on the hospital's role outside of the emergency department (ED). Doctors, nurses, physicians, security personnel and other hospital staff who would make up their Hospital's Emergency Response Team (HERT) should attend this course. It will provide hospitals and health care facilities with all the information and skills they need to go back to their facilities and develop and train their own Hospital's Emergency Response Team.

Day 1
Welcome, Introductions, and Overview
Part I - HERT for WMD
Unit One: Course Introduction: Origin of the Incident Command System (ICS)
Unit Two: Hospital Incident Management System (HIMS)
Unit Three: Overview of Chemical, Biological and Toxic Industrial Chemical (TIC) Hazards (CBRNE Agents)
Unit Four: HIMS for Mass Casualty Events (MCE) (Triage Exercise)
Unit Five: Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) Members (HazMat and CBRNE Teams)
Unit Six: Chemical Protective Clothing and Equipment (CP&CE)
Unit Seven: Emergency Treatment Area (ETA) Triage, Decontamination Procedures
Unit Eight: Hospital Decontamination Procedures

Day 2
Part II - HERT for WMD (Continued)
Unit Nine: HIMS and Unified Command (UC)
Unit Ten: HIMS and Hospital Emergency Response Plan (HERP) Integration
Unit Eleven: Hospital and Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Coordination (Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program)
Unit Twelve: Incident Action Plan (IAP)
Unit Thirteen: Drills and Exercise: Response Debriefing, Analysis, and Critique
Unit Fourteen: HIMS and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Interface
Unit Fifteen: Lessons Learned
Unit Sixteen: WMD Exercise (Introduction)