Hospital Emergency response team
HERT Training
Course Summary:
This course equips hospital-based HERT members (clinical and operational staff) to mobilize and operate within the hospital’s emergency operations framework when receiving mass casualty or hazardous-substance contaminated patients. The lecture module covers relevant OSHA first-receiver guidance, hazard vulnerability assessment concepts, personal protective equipment (PPE) selection for first receivers, decontamination zone setup, internal hospital command structure and inter-department coordination. The exercise places participants in a simulated incident (chemical spill, mass casualty arrival, multiple patient decontamination) where they apply the lecture concepts in real time: activating the hospital incident command system, assigning roles, managing a patient decontamination corridor, tracking victims, coordinating with external agencies and conducting a hot-wash debrief. The exercise is designed to mirror OSHA’s recommended first-receiver scenario planning for hospitals receiving contaminated patients.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the role of the hospital as a first-receiver of victims contaminated with hazardous substances, in accordance with OSHA best-practices.
- Identify and implement the appropriate PPE ensemble for first-receivers in a hospital setting, based on hazard assessment and chain of command procedures.
- Activate the hospital emergency operations plan (HEOP), mobilize the Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT), assign roles and responsibilities, and manage the incident within the hospital structure.
- Establish and operate a patient decontamination corridor, safe zones (hot/warm/cold) in the hospital context, and minimize secondary contamination of hospital staff and facilities.
- Coordinate with external agencies (fire department, hazmat response, EMS, public health) and integrate their input into the internal hospital response.
- Conduct an after-action review (AAR) or hot-wash, document lessons learned, and identify improvements to the hospital’s emergency procedures.
Target Audience
Hospital emergency management staff, emergency department leadership, HERT team members, security and facilities staff, safety, nursing leadership, and any staff designated to respond to mass casualty or hazardous substance incidents.