Fort Harrison VA Medical Center To Host National Decontamination Exercise

The exercise is part of the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) national First Receivers Decontamination Program (FRDP). 

The FRDP prepares staff to respond to incidents involving contaminated patients seeking care; to protect the well-being of Veterans, employees, and other occupants within the VA medical facility; to protect the physical infrastructure; and, to the fullest extent possible, ensure continuity of care.  

“The Montana VA is excited to be part of this national training program,” said Duane B. Gill, Executive Director for the Montana VA Health Care System. “No one knows when an emergency will strike or the nature of that emergency. Our staff are always working to ensure that we are fully trained and prepared to provide our Veterans with the highest quality care at a moment’s notice. Times of crisis are where we are needed the most -- our Veterans deserve nothing less.” 

The First Receivers team is comprised of appropriately-trained VA medical facility staff members who may encounter and work with contaminated or potentially contaminated patients from an incident involving Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear (CBRN) agents and who are involved in the activation and operation of the VA medical facility’s FRDP capability. 

First Receivers are distinguished from First Responders, such as firefighters, law enforcement, and Emergency Medical Service personnel, because the hospital is not the incident site. It is, instead, a separate location away from the location where the hazardous substance or contamination occurred. 

First Receivers can include clinicians and other VA medical facility staff who receive, decontaminate, triage, and treat patients and those whose roles support these functions such as security, access control, and set up of decontamination equipment.

Montana VA Health Care System serves over 49,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana—an area roughly 147,000 square miles in size. Veterans are cared for by a staff of 1,400 at 18 sites of care across the state.  One third of Montana VA employees are Veterans.  

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