SEOUL, Republic of Korea –
Medical personnel from the Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital (BAACH)
along with the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP) recently
participated in a Highly Infectious Disease Full Scale Exercise on March 31,
2015.
The exercise provided Republic of Korea (ROK) and US interagency
and military participants training on responding to a simulated Ebola
case.
The focus of the exercise was to improve the ROK-US Alliance's
ability to identify, respond and transport a simulated Ebola patient by
employing a whole-of-government approach through bilateral cooperative
engagements.
Although the scenario for the exercise was Ebola, the
lessons learned were applicable for other emerging events with highly infectious
agents.
Volunteering to serve as the suspected patient, Staff Sgt.
Alfonso Bernall-Stevens, the 121st Combat Support Hospital integration platoon
sergeant said, "I learned a lot about Ebola and was surprised at all the
agencies that got involved in this exercise. It took a lot of effort and
personnel to get one person isolated. The emergency room staff has been training
up to this and all the red flags were raised when I processed through the
screening room of the ER. They donned their preventative posture equipment and
isolated me to minimize contact."
Senior medic and emergency room Non
Commissioned Officer in Charge, Staff Sgt. Kyle Roberts has been training up his
staff to identify patients with symptoms of a highly infectious disease and on
how to screen patients, isolate them and limit staff exposure.
"Whenever
we get a suspected case, we contact the Korean Center for Disease Control who
contacts a ROK Army hospital that has the capabilities to test and treat
patients," said Roberts.
During the exercise, Bernall-Stevens said that
he had no fears with the language barrier. "The Korean medical staff and Capital
Hospital immediately placed me in a negative pressure isolation room and
explained the entire process to me along the way. They made me feel comfortable
about the whole process."
Interagency coordination and participation from
both the ROK and U.S. was exercised during the Highly Infectious Disease Full
Scale Exercise.
There was participation from KCDCP, public health
centers from Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province, ROK Armed
Forces Medical Command, Korean Armed Forces Capital Hospital and U.S. Forces
Korea.
"You never know what you get here at the emergency room," said
Roberts. "Anyone can come in here at any moment of time. We are the starting
point of the hospital and we have to be ready to handle anything. Being prepared
is our number one thing. We wanted to make sure that the people in the community
feel comfortable now. After this exercise, we have proved that we can properly
isolate the patient, and transport that patient to another location to receive
care without exposing anyone else. "