Exercise tests response to disaster scenario Published May 25, 2011 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The long-planned "Ultimate Caduceus" mass-casualty exercise was successfully completed May 18. Over 10 hours, more than 100 responders from federal, state and local agencies converted a portion of the Keesler tarmac into a fully-functioning National Disaster Medical System patient reception area. The PRA evaluated more than 50 "casualties" from the scenario's 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the New Madrid Seismic Zone northwest of Memphis May 16, triggering a magnitude 7.7 event in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, resulting in 2,300 fatalities and 56,000 casualties, 1,200 with critical injuries. A Kentucky Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft from the 165th Airlift Squadron, Louisville, flew in 35 mannequins representing casualties. A critical care air transport team from the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron out of Pope AFB, N.C., "cared for" them in flight. Once on the ground at Keesler they were replaced by live "casualty role players," 35 students from the 81st Training Group and 17 emergency medical technician basic course students from Acadian Ambulance and Air Service in Jackson County. In addition, the 81st Medical Group education and training staff furnished a patient simulation mannequin used for onsite emergency response training. Medics evaluated the patients, including the patient simulator, who were then dispersed to area hospitals for treatment via Acadian and American Medical Response ambulances as well as a Biloxi Veterans Affairs Medical Center bus. In addition, a U.S. Coast Guard-provided helicopter flew an EMT volunteer patient to Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula while another volunteer patient was flown to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport on an Acadian medical evacuation helicopter. Robert Tash, National Disaster Medical System Federal Coordinating Center Emergency Management Area coordinator, said, "We arrived on site at 7 a.m. and cleared the flight line at 5 p.m. as planned." He added, "The entire team was made up of Department of Defense, VA Biloxi, Medical Reserve Corps, a Health and Human Service joint patient assessment and tracking system strike team and our coastal community support organizations - the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. They pulled together and made this event a huge success." Mr. Tash, who's assigned to the 81st Medical Support Squadron readiness flight, explained, "We processed and sent the 52 live patients and simulation mannequin to eight south Mississippi medical facilities safely and had 100 percent accountability at the end of the exercise. Patient accountability was a major element of the training." He continued, "We also tested and validated the VA's lightweight, portable and rugged satellite communications system which was operational within 30 minutes of arriving on site. It provided seven phone lines, fax capability and Internet Wi-Fi to the PRA and command and control operations. The system enabled us to fax all participating medical facilities the numbers, names, categories and conditions of the casualties two hours before the aircraft's 12:30 p.m. landing. "The most important lesson we came away with from the national-level 'Ultimate Caduceus' exercise is our community can come together and manage any actual medical disaster or event that may generate casualties and overcome any obstacles," Mr. Tash said. "We learned that medical personnel from very different environments can readily integrate, communicate well and work as a team to save lives whenever required." Although the national-level exercise was conducted May 16-20, the Keesler participation was scheduled for May 18 only. The exercise tested the ability to immediately move critical patients to areas with available medical care within one to four hours of being injured. In addition to Keesler, the VA, Singing River and Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, other participating NDMS hospitals were Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Ocean Springs Hospital, Garden Park Medical Center and Hancock County Medical Center. Each hospital accepted casualties based on its training needs. Coast Guard Search and Rescue from Mobile also participated.