Jennifer Barry will start a job this week as a LPN at the Rhode Island Hospital Critical Care.
Courtney Rebensdorf is a recently retired veterinarian. Both are in the business of helping to care for others. However, on Saturday morning they were in different role. They were among 121 passengers and eight crew members on a flight from Heathrow Airport in London that was diverted from landing at JFK in New York to Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. They hadn’t cleared security. In fact, they didn’t have any luggage or passports.
Neither of them looked in great shape as they stood in the long -term parking lot not far from the Patriots jet. The Patriots plane would leave soon for Miami but not before Jennifer and Cortney’s plane that they never boarded, a fuselage that is designed for such purposes was enveloped in a fireball. There was no black smoke as it was propane, not jet fuel that was burning. Rhode Island Airport Corporation firefighters quickly doused the flames. Also arriving at the scene were firefighters and apparatus from Warwick, Cranston, and West Warwick .
Under the scenario, Jennifer, Courtney and other volunteer passengers survive the fiery landing with virtual injuries. Courtney has third degree burns to her left arm and cut and bruises to her face. She’s in pain. She role plays the part, faking disorientation by getting up and walking away from the scene as EMTs from responding fire departments hasten to determine the number of injured and the severity of their injuries.
Jennifer is in tough shape, too. She has a true to life nasty gash on her leg. It’s bleeding. Well, it looks like an open wound that’s bleeding. Of the 129 on the plane, 29 don’t make it and another 30 are injured.
This is all part of the training exercise staged by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and a host of federal and state agencies ranging from U.S. Customs and Border protection, National Transportation Safety Board and EMA on the federal side to the Departments of Health, Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospital, Medical Examiner on the state side. The American Red Cross, the Jet Blue Care Team and even a member of the Canadian Consulate were involved in the full-exercise required of Green Airport every three years.
“This is an international fight,” reminds Dennis Greco, RIAC Senior Vice President for Operations and operations manger for the exercise. He explained the exercise is broken into three phases with the first being the response followed by investigatory and recovery. In this case JetBlue used the Rhode Island incident as training for its Care Team training that involved personnel in Great Britain where the fight was to have initiated as well as locally so as to respond to inquiries as to the condition and whereabouts of virtual passengers. At this end, Greco said, reservations were made at the Hyatt Place for passengers. A mock family resource center was set up at the Crowne Plaza to assist people seeking information about passengers on the flight.
Multiple factors need to be taken into consideration explained Brittany Morgan, RIAC Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs. She noted provisions were made for foreign language speaking passengers and deaf passengers. They had even thought of providing for virtual pets on the virtual fated flight.
The exercise lasted into the afternoon that included debriefings. In between morning and afternoon, Morgan said of the volunteers “we’ll feed them and give them T-shirts.”
Both Courtney and Jennifer are members of the Rhode Island Medical Reserve Corps that played a key role in operating test and vaccination sites during the pandemic. Courtney said she volunteered for the practice because, “It just sounded like fun.” She wasn’t disappointed. Playing a dazed victim, she tried to walk off the scene on three occasions.
Jennifer was intrigued by the process of treating the injured at an incident.
“It was cool to see that happens before you get a patient,” she said.
By JOHN HOWELL
Jennifer Barry will start a job this week as a LPN at the Rhode Island Hospital Critical Care.
Courtney Rebensdorf is a recently retired veterinarian. Both are in the business of helping to care for others. However, on Saturday morning they were in different role. They were among 121 passengers and eight crew members on a flight from Heathrow Airport in London that was diverted from landing at JFK in New York to Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. They hadn’t cleared security. In fact, they didn’t have any luggage or passports.
Neither of them looked in great shape as they stood in the long -term parking lot not far from the Patriots jet. The Patriots plane would leave soon for Miami but not before Jennifer and Cortney’s plane that they never boarded, a fuselage that is designed for such purposes was enveloped in a fireball. There was no black smoke as it was propane, not jet fuel that was burning. Rhode Island Airport Corporation firefighters quickly doused the flames. Also arriving at the scene were firefighters and apparatus from Warwick, Cranston, and West Warwick .
Under the scenario, Jennifer, Courtney and other volunteer passengers survive the fiery landing with virtual injuries. Courtney has third degree burns to her left arm and cut and bruises to her face. She’s in pain. She role plays the part, faking disorientation by getting up and walking away from the scene as EMTs from responding fire departments hasten to determine the number of injured and the severity of their injuries.
Jennifer is in tough shape, too. She has a true to life nasty gash on her leg. It’s bleeding. Well, it looks like an open wound that’s bleeding. Of the 129 on the plane, 29 don’t make it and another 30 are injured.
This is all part of the training exercise staged by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and a host of federal and state agencies ranging from U.S. Customs and Border protection, National Transportation Safety Board and EMA on the federal side to the Departments of Health, Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospital, Medical Examiner on the state side. The American Red Cross, the Jet Blue Care Team and even a member of the Canadian Consulate were involved in the full-exercise required of Green Airport every three years.
“This is an international fight,” reminds Dennis Greco, RIAC Senior Vice President for Operations and operations manger for the exercise. He explained the exercise is broken into three phases with the first being the response followed by investigatory and recovery. In this case JetBlue used the Rhode Island incident as training for its Care Team training that involved personnel in Great Britain where the fight was to have initiated as well as locally so as to respond to inquiries as to the condition and whereabouts of virtual passengers. At this end, Greco said, reservations were made at the Hyatt Place for passengers. A mock family resource center was set up at the Crowne Plaza to assist people seeking information about passengers on the flight.
Multiple factors need to be taken into consideration explained Brittany Morgan, RIAC Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs. She noted provisions were made for foreign language speaking passengers and deaf passengers. They had even thought of providing for virtual pets on the virtual fated flight.
The exercise lasted into the afternoon that included debriefings. In between morning and afternoon, Morgan said of the volunteers “we’ll feed them and give them T-shirts.”
Both Courtney and Jennifer are members of the Rhode Island Medical Reserve Corps that played a key role in operating test and vaccination sites during the pandemic. Courtney said she volunteered for the practice because, “It just sounded like fun.” She wasn’t disappointed. Playing a dazed victim, she tried to walk off the scene on three occasions.
Jennifer was intrigued by the process of treating the injured at an incident.
“It was cool to see that happens before you get a patient,” she said.
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