Medical Center Director lauds HCL course

A recent graduate from the Center for Domestic Preparedness’ Healthcare Leadership for Mass Casualty Incidents (HCL) course praised the center’s training as “a national asset to be emulated and expanded.”

Roy Samsel, an assistant medical center director for the Veteran’s Administration in Michigan, said the course helped him feel more prepared to respond correctly in the event his medical center responded to a mass casualty event.

“Understanding the roles of those responding to an emergency was beneficial,” said Samsel, adding his comprehension of where the medical services fit in an emergency will help him and his coworkers to complement other responders during and after an incident.

Samsel particularly stressed the importance of the practical exercises during training, including the Integrated Capstone Event. As a member of his facility’s emergency management team, he plans to ensure future exercises at the medical center are as realistic as possible.

“The CDP exercises were stressful. I had to remind myself to stay calm and stay on task,” said Samsel. “The capstone event was engaging and one of the best practical exercises I have ever been a part of.”

The CDP’s four-day HCL course addresses disaster preparedness at the facility and system level. It enables healthcare leaders to be prepared for any incident resulting in multiple casualties, whether it is the result of a natural disaster; an accidental or intentional release of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives (CBRNE) hazard; or a disease outbreak that results in an epidemic or pandemic.

Responders learn essential disaster-planning response and recovery functions which they apply first in a tabletop exercise and then in a two-day functional exercise.

Samsel has recommended the course to colleagues and hopes to return to the CDP for future training.

For additional information about the CDP’s HCL course, visit https://cdp.dhs.gov/training/course/MGT-901.