Bay Pines VA to Conduct Annual Emergency Exercise with Community Partners April 20

Events, General News
The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (VAHCS) will conduct a mass casualty exercise at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center on Wednesday, April 20, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. During the exercise, emergency vehicles and personnel will be onsite. Traffic flow on the medical center campus will be minimally impacted. In addition, parking lots 24 and 14 will be closed or partially closed. To reference locations of impacted parking lots, visit: www.baypines.va.gov/documents/Bay_Pines_Map.pdf.

The purpose of the exercise is to test the Bay Pines VAHCS’s mass casualty plan, mass casualty support operations, Incident Command Center (ICC) and integration with community fire and emergency medical agencies. Community agencies participating in the exercise include Seminole Fire Rescue and Hazmat, Largo Fire Department and Hazmat, Madeira Beach Fire Department, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue and Hazmat, Pinellas Park Fire and Hazmat, Palm Harbor Fire and Hazmat, Pinellas County Dispatch, Sunstar Ambulance, and the Seminole Community Emergency Response Team.

The Bay Pines VAHCS is required by The Joint Commission to complete two emergency exercises annually, one of which must include community participation and an influx of patients.

“It is very important that we are able to work cooperatively with our community partners when responding to emergencies or crisis situations,” said Dean Armstrong, Emergency Manager, Bay Pines VAHCS. “While our principal mission is to deliver 5-star health care services and customer experiences to the men and women we serve, we also have humanitarian duties as a member of the community and must be ready to respond.”

General questions and media inquiries about the exercise should be directed to Jason W. Dangel, Public Affairs Officer, Bay Pines VAHCS, at 727-398-6661, extension 15031, or email vhabaypublicaffairs@va.gov.

About Jeff Cavanagh

Jeff Cavanagh spent his freshman year at St. Petersburg Junior College back in the early 70s before enlisting in the United States Navy. Soon after, he attended Jacksonville University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After college, he was commissioned and became a qualified Surface Warfare Officer spending the next 22 years honing his skills as a ship-handler and expert recruiter before retiring in 1994. Jeff expresses a deep sense of pride in St. Petersburg College due to connections that go back many years. His father, Tom Cavanagh, was a career Air Force fighter pilot and combat veteran who taught Geography and Western Civilization at St. Petersburg Junior College in the 60’s and 70’s.