Chicago to Review EMS Plans in Wake of Boston
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has ordered his administration to review its medical plan to deal with mass injuries in light of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has ordered his administration to review its medical plan to deal with mass injuries in light of the Boston Marathon bombing.
The mayor on Monday said Chicago updated its medical response plan in preparation for the meeting of NATO delegates in Chicago last May. The need for a well-rehearsed response to an attack with many people hurt became apparent after the Boston bombing, he said.
Emanuel met with his public safety team shortly after the marathon attack and said he told them to revisit the NATO guidelines.
"We regularly train to continue that process," he said. "And when Boston is done there will be an after-action report. I want to get our hands immediately on that and see if there are any studies to be learned."
The mayor noted that the Boston situation was somewhat unusual because there were so many paramedics in the immediate vicinity to deal with marathon runners.
"Not every time are you going to have an incident where you have medical care on-site," Emanuel said. "That clearly saved lives. But having a well-rehearsed, well-planned, well thought-out medical emergency response was crucial in saving lives."
"We have a very good plan. We did it for NATO exercise. I've asked everybody to go back and look at it. I want to know the training schedules coming up," he said.
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