AGH Drills for G20 Emergency

Allegheny General Hospital employees will act as though there has been a major health emergency at the upcoming G20 Pittsburgh Summit tomorrow morning. AGH spokesperson Dan Laurent says the hospital regularly holds “Mass Casualty Emergency Operations Drills” but this one will focus on issues that could be unique to such an emergency during the summit. Among those issues is how to deal with several emergency room patients when one of them is a world dignitary. Laurent says any mass causality event in the city September 24th and 25th will involve several hospitals in the area but it is clear AGH would be among them due to its proximity to the convention center where the event is being held. Laurent says, “West Penn Allegheny Health System and AGH have been active participants in the planning for the region’s emergency response capabilities during the G20 Summit. The objectives of these planning efforts, including tomorrow’s drill, are to keep AGH and all West Penn Allegheny’s campuses safe, open and prepared to meeting the community’s regular healthcare needs during Summit while also responding to any emergency scenario that may occur during the summit.” The drill from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. is not expected to impact normal operations and Laurent says most passersby will not even realize that anything different is going on at the hospital.