Second Lt. Faridal Mutalib, kneeling, an environmental science officer and decontamination team site leader, gives instructions to team members during a Sept. 23 mock mass-casualty exercise. Photo by Julia Yubeta.
Beaumont treats patients from mass casualty exercise
Clarence Davis III
WBAMC Public Affairs
The William Beaumont Army Medical Center medical team participated in a mock mass-casualty exercise Sept. 23, during which they cared for several “injured” patients.
In response to a mock chemical explosion on Fort Bliss, the WBAMC Emergency Operations Center was activated. The EOC team and other WBAMC staff reported to their respective places of duty in support of the exercise in accordance to WBAMC’s Medical Emergency Management Plan. Places of duty included the scenario site, where medical personnel assisted in the triage and evacuation of 28 patients from the site to WBAMC for decontamination and medical treatment, and the evacuation of another 10 patients to Las Palmas Medical Center.
“It is important that the leadership see the MEMP in operation for assurance that the right resources are available and the plan works,” said Maj. Todd Nicolson, chief of the WBAMC Readiness Division. “It is also a requirement by the Joint Commission Accreditation of Health Care Organizations that we have a mass-casualty exercise twice annually.”
Even though the scenario was an exercise, it was executed in real time. The scenario described the incident as a truck loaded with chlorine that overturned at Jeb Stuart South. Chlorine enters the body by inhaling contaminated air and can be consumed with contaminated food or water. However, it disperses rapidly and causes acute respiratory distress, said 2nd Lt. Faridal Mutalib, an environmental science officer and the decontamination team’s site leader.
It was important that medical support professionals identified any health threats before treating patients and admitting them to a medical facility, said Mutalib. If a contaminant or disease was found to be present, the medical staff had to move quickly to minimize the danger to anyone exposed.
Special emphases during the exercise were placed on decontamination of patients upon their arrival for treatment and patient accountability throughout the evacuation and treatment process. The WBAMC decontamination team was a secondary decontamination site.
“Patients were sent through the Fort Bliss DECON site before being evacuated for treatment,” said Mutalib. “The monthly four-hour training scenarios prepare the team to meet real-world and exercise challenges.
“There were several glitches, but we overcame them quickly because of our training,” Mutalib added.
Evacuation decisions were based upon various protocols. Before patients were evacuated from the site, they were triaged to determine their health status and tagged with identification bands to reflect that status.
“Triage is the process of sorting patients based upon the urgency of care and available resources,” said Daniel Barnes, chief for triage with the Patient Administration Division. “Delayed, immediate, minimal and [psychological] were the triage categories used for patients evacuated during the exercise.”
ID bands were used throughout the evacuation process or until the patients were released. At every level of treatment, the ID band was cross-referenced at every receiving station for tracking purposes. It was important to maintain communications between the various echelons of care to ensure the patients were tracked correctly throughout care, said Spc. Michael Hernandez, a medic.
“Overall, the exercise was a success, even though there were some shortcomings,” said Timothy D. Edman, chief of staff. “During the exercise, the issues were addressed and the exercise provides us with an opportunity to learn and improve.”