Lawrence General Treats Victims of Chemical Explosion

January 07, 2016

7 January 2016 - LAWRENCE, MA— Just before 3:00 pm today the Lawrence General Hospital Emergency Center was notified to expect four critically injured patients from a chemical explosion. Within minutes, trauma teams were managing the care of these individuals, first following the hospitals decontamination protocol for patients with chemical exposure, and then assessing and stabilizing them. Within about 60 minutes, three of the four patients had been stabilized and transported to Level 1 Trauma Centers in Boston. A fourth patient was admitted to Lawrence General for treatment of injuries.

“The injuries we saw were consistent with a chemical explosion: blast injuries and burns,” Dr. George Kondylis, chief of Emergency Medicine at Lawrence General told reporters late this afternoon. “Unfortunately, these kinds of events do happen, and it’s what we are trained to handle. As a verified Trauma Center we see critical injuries on a regular basis and know what to do. Our protocols worked just as they are intended to today, and probably 50 – 60 health care professionals, doctors, nurses, paramedics and others came together to respond.”

 All four patients were assessed in critical condition, which, according to hospital policy, means “Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may not be conscious; indicators are unfavorable or questionable.”