Disaster prep for country's biggest fear: NJ hospitals simulate response to nuclear attack

Hospitals across New Jersey practiced on Wednesday for what would likely be one of the greatest challenges faced by their emergency preparedness teams: a nuclear attack.

“Operation Gotham Shield” was designed to simulate the response to the complicated, and likely cascading, impacts of a nuclear attack in the region. John Grembowiec, chairman of the New Jersey EMS Task Force, told New York’s PIX11 news station that the simulation had long been in the works and was not a direct response to any current events, like growing international concerns about the nuclear arsenal possessed by North Korea.

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In Rutherford, New Jersey, emergency medical services set up mobile emergency care at MetLife Stadium that would allow providers to decontaminate exposed patients and quickly assess their needs, according to the article. Physicians with Hackensack University Medical Center deployed a mobile emergency room, built into a tractor trailer, that can fold up and travel to other locations as needed.

The roving ER has been used in prior disasters, according to the article, like Superstorm Sandy, where a baby was delivered on board in the midst of the storm. Providers at Hackensack also reflected on the response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, which they were part of, NJ.com reported.

"All drills are important, but especially decontamination. I've personally seen the importance of getting something right at the beginning," Doug Finefrock, D.O., vice chairman of Hackensack’s emergency department, said.

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In addition to testing the infrastructure in place for a response, the drills offered an opportunity for providers to test how they work with first responders, participants said. Firefighters working alongside Hackensack doctors, for instance, set up water streams for contaminated patients to walk through.

The four-day drill has caused some confusion online, though, because of rising political tensions, NorthJersey.com reported. The simulations particularly rankled internet conspiracy theorists, who found the timing suspect amid growing fears about the volatile North Korean regime. Despite reassurances from public health officials that the drill was planned months earlier, some still accused the government of planting a “false flag” to deflect attention away from actual government actions.