Metropolitan Medical Response System, or MMRS is a regional plan to mitigate the medical consequences of a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) event by creating a highly trained, readily deployable, fully equipped response system of medical, law enforcement, fire service & other professionals to support local resources. Any incident involving weapons of mass destruction could cause thousands of casualties and could occur with little or no warning. In addition, mass panic could ensue, multiple events or attacks could occur simultaneously, and in responding to an attack, local resources would be at risk of becoming affected by the attack or by a secondary device.
The Boston MMRS continues to cultivate partnerships in Boston’s expansive medical community. Our goal is preparedness, and everyone can be a part of achieving success.
Many activities are underway as part of the Boston MMRS:
- An interagency management team has been established - including officials from the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), the BPHC Communicable Disease Control Bureau (CDC), Boston Police and Fire Departments, Boston EMS, Boston Emergency Management Agency, United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Massport Police and Fire Departments, the MBTA Police, the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, representatives of metro-Boston’s community and neighborhood health centers, and numerous academic institutions;
- Cooperative partnerships are in place with many of Boston’s schools of pharmacy, public health, and medicine;
- Advanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is in place for emergency response personnel. This PPE will allow responders to remain safe during a weapons of mass destruction event;
- Boston’s local pharmaceutical cache is in place, ready for deployment in response to an act of terrorism involving chemical or biological weapons;
- Syndromic surveillance program in operation through BPHC CDC. This web-based surveillance system monitors daily volume at 10 acute care hospitals, one community health care center, and call-code volume data from Boston EMS and the , ensuring that, subsequent to a release of a biological or chemical agent, BPHC can rapidly detect changes in healthcare seeking patterns and mount an effective and coordinated investigation and response;
- Expanded citywide personnel training, including:
- All personnel trained to Hazardous Materials Operations level
- All personnel trained to Department of Justice Weapons of Mass Destruction Technician
- Multiple personnel trained to Hazardous Materials Technician
- Pilot Hazardous Materials for Hospital Providers course underway, specifically addressing issues of hospital-based care for patients involved in hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction incidents
- Pilot MMRS Volunteer Responder course underway, preparing volunteer students from ’s pharmacy, public health, and medical schools to participate in response to a WMD event or other large-scale emergency