MASSENA -- Massena Memorial Hospital is planning a three-day disaster preparedness drill from May 18 to 20.

Emergencies can be threats to any healthcare organization, MMH said.

“In developing the three-day disaster drill scenario, Massena Memorial Hospital will bring the paper drill inside to test staff with response, evacuation and safety plans,” according to Mark Brouillette, senior director professional and practice management and ancillary services. “Emergency management allows us as a hospital to plan to respond to the effects of potential emergencies that may occur from disruptive to disastrous. We are planning a three day exercise to test our response and then evaluate its effectiveness.”

“Today, hospitals and their staff are well situated and routinely trained to respond and treat victims as a result of external disasters, be it flu pandemics, multiple motor vehicle accidents, industrial explosions, and even forces of nature,” said Bob Elsner, MMH disaster preparedness coordinator.

MMH says the exercise will help them answer a number of questions, such as what happens when the hospital and its staff fall victim to similar events? How well does the hospital, its staff, and the community respond to disasters that involve the hospital? What happens if the hospital becomes structurally unstable? What if significant utilities such as electricity and water are shut down or become unavailable for extended periods? How does the hospital and community safely and efficiently transfer patients and to where?

“That is exactly what Massena Memorial Hospital will be evaluating in a series of disaster drills to be conducted over a three day period next week. Each hospital is required under federal, state, and accrediting agency rules to have disaster plans for such eventualities,” Elsner said.

During the drills, various community response agencies will voluntarily participate, including Massena Fire Department and Massena Rescue Squad. Massena Police Department and Massena Central School District are also part of the drill, MMH said.

During these dates, patients and visitors to the hospital may see and hear some unusual activity.

“It is essential that we conduct these drills to maintain an appropriate level of readiness to respond to the unexpected,” Brouillette said. “These drills help us to measure our effectiveness, define weakness, and make those adjustments and improvements so that we can efficiently and safely protect our patients, staff, and visitors during hazardous events.”