LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
The 1st Medical Group recently supported its first regional Biological Emergency Mass Dispensing Exercise, "Skeeter Swatt 2009," to test how well it would perform when faced with an anthrax exposure via crop-dusting plane.
Developed by civilian emergency management, the exercise tested three general challenges: Langley's ability to organize with outside agencies, dispense medications quickly and utilize training to save lives.
"Our community should know that if the unthinkable were to happen, our medics would be able to provide the ultimate in care in a moment's notice," said Edward Hazler, medical chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear emergency management planner, 1st MDG.
Anthrax is an acute infection caused by the spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. The illness can be contracted through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. To be effective, treatment should be initiated early; left untreated, the disease can be fatal, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of the challenges the exercise allowed the 1st MDG to practice was efficiently arranging outside agency coordination for a security forces escort and security for a shipment that would contain thousands of pharmaceuticals, said Mr. Hazler.
Coordinating agencies included 1st MDG, Langley Chapel, 1st Security Forces Squadron and Langley Community Center as well as the Virginia Department of Health, Hampton Health Department, the CDC and Portsmouth Naval Station.
The process began with dental triage officers checking patients for symptoms. Mission-essential personnel and first-responders were checked first. Those with cutaneous symptoms, such as fever or rash, were escorted away, re-triaged and then sent to 1st MDG, where they were given doxycyline or cipiro floxacin.
Those who did not show symptoms were sent to a mass briefing on symptom identification, and processed through intelligence lines to pick up critical information about anthrax exposure and medication. Following the briefing, the patients received medication at the point-of-dispensing site at the Langley Community Center.
At the height of this exercise, medics aimed to process more than 500 prescriptions per hour, thus treating the populous within 48 hours, said Mr. Hazler. "Altogether, the home station medical response from 1st MDG delivered between 450 and 500 simulated prescriptions in less than two hours."
Lastly, the exercise challenged Airmen to apply their medical knowledge and training in a fast-paced crisis scenario.
"During readiness training and briefings, we're taught what to do if a biological situation occurs, so it was nice to finally apply those briefings during a hands-on experience," said Senior Airman Kevin Kramer, 1st MDG pharmacy journeyman, who dispensed medication to simulated anthrax patients.
According to Mr. Hazler, the goal was to evaluate the dispensing processes and prepare a delivery system that would cover the community. "This exercise projected confidence to our community and assured them their welfare is our number one priority."