Rahm orders review of Chicago's emergency medical plan after Boston Marathon bombings

If there’s a lesson to be learned from the Boston Marathon bombing, it’s the value of having a “well-rehearsed, well-conceived” emergency medical plan to deal with mass casualties, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday.

Emanuel said he’s ordered his public safety team to review the emergency medical plan crafted for last year’s NATO Summit in Chicago to incorporate lessons learned from Boston.

“The fact that they had a well-rehearsed, well-thought out and well-developed emergency medical response was crucial in saving lives,” Emanuel said of Boston.

“We have a very good plan. We did it for NATO. I’ve asked everybody to go back and look at it. I want to know the training schedules coming up. And as soon as Boston is done with the federal government in analyzing what worked, best practices, I want to get our hands on that report and I want to scrub what we have and make sure it’s up to that standard. That’s just one example. There are other things also. But, that’s one clear example we’re gonna be looking at.”

In Boston, a medical tent set up to treat injuries suffered by marathon runners was turned into a triage center for bombing victims.

An exhausted doctor who participated in the marathon jumped right into handling patients with devastating injuries normally confined to war victims.

“Not every time are you gonna have an incident where you have medical care on site. Because they had a marathon, they had it on site. That clearly saved lives. But, having a well-rehearsed, well-planned, well-thought out medical emergency response was crucial in saving lives,” Emanuel said.

The mayor also disclosed that the Chicago Police Department has sent five detectives to Boston to assist in the bombing investigation at the request of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.