509th MDG exercises disease containment procedures

  • Published
  • By by Airman 1st Class Cody H. Ramirez
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The 509th Medical Group conducted an exercise to test processes on containing a mass-disease outbreak here, Oct. 13.

"The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the ability to respond to a public health emergency by exercising the mass prophylaxis, testing the ability to stand up the POD [Point of Dispensing] and distribute medical counter measures," Maj. Sohrab Nejad, 509th MDG, Point of Dispensing director of the exercise.

The exercise kicked off with more than 100 Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen deploying to Africa for a humanitarian mission. They returned here Oct. 10 with flu like symptoms, which worsened over the following days. Medical personnel were called and a POD was set up to prevent further contamination.

"Team chiefs were briefed on the current situation to ensure all teams were aware of what was expected of them in this particular situation," Major Nejad said. "The teams included decontamination, pharmacy, medical logistics, medical security and manpower, clinical, mental health, patient administration, public health and the public health emergency office."

Decontamination teams protected the facility and those inside from being contaminated. Security and manpower guarded the operation from breaches. Clinical teams prescribed medication and evaluated patients. Public health briefed those infected, informing them of exactly what the disease was and how to best deal with it. Mental health checked patients' mental and emotional stability and pharmacy personnel dispensed medicine.

"This is the first time we've done an exercise of this scale," said Major Nejad. "We were able to put our plan into action, analyze it, and identify areas and processes that could be improved. This exercise will ensure we are ready for public health emergencies and medication mass dispensing."

Exercise evaluation team personnel oversaw the operation to ensure quality control on procedures and find areas for improvement.

"We ensured everyone was using their checklists, and that the lists would work in a real-world situation," said Maj. William Magee, 509th MDG chief of medical EET. "It was great seeing what we [509th Medical Group] are capable of."

The teams each pulled their weight making the process affective in a crisis incident.

"We performed very well in meeting the overall objective," said Major Nejad. "We realize there is always room for improvement and will use what we learned from this exercise to make the process flow smoother."