September 20, 2018
Subject: Disaster Exercise – Earthquake Nov. 13/14
Dear patient and visitors:
The safety of our patients, visitors and staff is a primary concern of UCLA Health System. To meet this mission, we frequently test our emergency systems and require our staff to practice for events such as community-wide disasters.
As you may have heard in the news media, the State of California has planned a large disaster exercise that is scheduled to begin on Thursday, November 13, and conclude on Tuesday, November 18. UCLA Health System will participate in components of this exercise on Thursday (November 13) and Friday (November 14) to give our staff members an opportunity practice their response to an emergency situation during the course of our normal daily duties and responsibilities.
An announcement will be made at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, over our public-address system instructing faculty and staff who are not at that time involved in direct patient care to “Drop, Cover, Hold On” when the simulated earthquake occurs. If you are feeling well enough, we encourage you to participate as well. This exercise will help us to train our “muscle memory” to respond promptly and appropriately in a real emergency. After 90 seconds, a second announcement will end the simulated “shaking” and instruct staff to resume normal functions and further participate in the administrative components of the exercise.
You may throughout the day on Thursday, November 13, and the morning of Friday, November 14, witness staff members practicing setting up emergency equipment, conducting facilities assessments and triaging or moving “mock” patients.
We appreciate your patience, and we hope that exercises like this will further prepare us to better serve the medical needs of you and our community. We have also attached information on what to do in a real event while you are here or at home.
Sincerely,
William J. Dunne, MS, NREMT-P
Director