JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO- LACKLAND, Texas –
The 59th Medical Wing joined local, state and federal
agencies in a recent virtual training exercise aimed at preparing officials for
a pandemic influenza outbreak.
Wing emergency management and public health officers
participated in the virtual table-top exercise June 2 - 5. Sponsored by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta and conducted through video teleconference, the free
training was especially valuable as budget constraints can limit non
mission-essential travel opportunities.
"We had the opportunity to learn from, and network
with, other subject matter experts that we normally would not have had a chance
to meet," said Capt. Audra Blasi, 359th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public
Health officer.
According to the CDC, an influenza pandemic could happen if
a non-human influenza changes enough to inflect humans and spread easily and quickly
among the population. Non-human viruses are especially dangerous because people
have little to no immunity to them.
Members of the 59th MDW participated in all three days of
the exercise.
The pandemic influenza outbreak scenario was the same each day,
but participants varied each session. Each four-hour exercise session was
broken into three modules: preparedness, response, and extended
response/recovery.
The modules provided discussion questions concerning
disaster response plans, and allowed each unit a chance to share their thoughts
with the whole group.
"Listening to other experts helped us look at our
disaster response plans and see where we could make improvements," said
Blasi. "In the end, we identified a few areas to review and fine-tune so that
if an outbreak does occur, we can respond quickly and efficiently."