As part of a drill, four Montgomery County hospitals and the county’s emergency medical service teams simulated a mass casualty terrorist attack today to test the area’s ability to respond to a major emergency.

Suburban Hospital tested several new technologies during the exercise. Prince George’s, Calvert, St. Mary’s and Charles County hospitals, as well as Prince George’s County emergency medical services, also tested their response to a terrorist attack in the D.C. metro area. A total of 13 Maryland hospitals participated in the simulation.

The simulation is part of Capital Shield 2012, an inter-agency emergency management exercise that also includes events in D.C. and Virginia. Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, who organized Capital Shield 2012, is a a military agency responsible for incident management and support of civil authorities.

The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security sent an email through the Alert Montgomery server Oct. 19 to warn residents that victim transportation drills would result in increased ambulance and helicopter traffic as mock victims are moved to hospitals.  The email assured, however, that the simulation wouldn’t affect hospital capacity or promptness of treatment.

A Suburban Hospital press release urged patients not to be alarmed at the sight of severely injured victims.

“They will likely see mock victims dressed up to look like they have been severely injured and hospital staff in personal protective equipment simulating the decontamination process.”