Are nearby hospital emergency departments prepared to contain, and treat victims of, such an outbreak?
Indications are that they are not. Congressman Barney Frank testified last year that Massachusetts hospitals are not prepared for the “average Friday night,” referring to overcrowding and frequent diversion of emergency patients. Is evacuation of the community possible? Massachusetts was recently ranked as one of the states least prepared to respond to a disaster in the entire country. While this proposed laboratory is cited as a means of enabling the country to better respond to terrorist threats, the threat posed by the laboratory does not appear designed to resolve Massachusetts’ disaster preparedness deficiencies. What will be done with the waste products of this laboratory? Will waste be adequately processed prior to disposal? Will adequate care be taken to maintain the efficiency of this equipment? It takes 48 hours to verify these tests. Will waste products be held long enough for the completion of tests to confirm decontamination of the load? Where? Will any organisms or parts
Related Questions
- If an outbreak of FMD were to occur on a property nearby, what immediate steps could people take to help contain the spread of the disease?
- Are nearby hospital emergency departments prepared to contain, and treat victims of, such an outbreak?
- What are the emergency departments like at Parkland Hospital and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas?
