|
USC’s Arnold School of Public Health produced a series of homeland security exercises at five hospitals throughout the Columbia metropolitan area Oct. 28.
As part of the drill’s scenario, terrorists sprayed citizens waiting for vaccines with chemical and biological substances. The citizens then fled the scene and self-reported to area hospitals with various symptoms, overwhelming the hospitals’ existing capabilities. Faced with a mass casualty situation, the hospitals called on local and state resources to help with the decontamination.
The Arnold School received a $175,000 grant last spring as a part of the S.C. Statewide Homeland Security Exercise Program. USC participated in the program as part of a team led by EG&G Inc. of Arlington, Va., a provider of management and technical services to agencies of the U.S. Government; Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), also of Virginia; and Universal Systems & Technology Inc. (UNITECH), with offices in Charleston.
The grant, which runs through December 2005, includes 22 homeland security exercises over 21 months.
11/04
|
