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Personnel assigned to all installation commands and tenant commands throughout Command Navy Region Northwest (CNRNW) will soon be rolling up their sleeves.
Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB) and Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor (NHCOH) will team up with CNRNW, Naval Base Kitsap (NBK), Naval Station Everett (NSE), Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI), Naval Magazine Indian Island to administer a mass influenza vaccination during a mock pandemic exercise – PANDEMIC-17 - on Nov. 1 and 2, 2017.
According to Lt. Rohan A. Jairam, NHB Environmental Health Officer and Head, Preventive Medicine Department, holding the influenza vaccination exercise will validate multiple response capabilities to a pandemic influenza scenario.
“This is a unique opportunity for us to take the Navy's seasonal influenza vaccine annual requirement and carry out Navy Region Northwest’s response plan in a pandemic influenza scenario. It takes an all-hands effort to support the warfighter, while honoring Navy Medicine's three pillars of readiness, health, and partnerships, which are critical in meeting the needs of our military. As a military treatment facility, an exercise of this magnitude will improve our capabilities to work jointly with installation and region entities to achieve a common goal,” said Jairam.
PANDEMIC-17 will also involve using primary resources such as fire and emergency services, security, MTF emergency preparedness, and fleet and family readiness that are necessary to support the fleet, fighter, and family during such an event.
“This mass vaccination exercise will provide NHB and our branch health clinics the ability to respond in a logistic support role to this mock pandemic and train for any other infectious disease event,” said Terry Lerma, NHB Military Treatment Facility Emergency Manager.
The mass vaccination two-day exercise will focus on specific shore-based active duty service members, along with activated Reservists, critical civilian personnel such as federal fire department, Department of Defense (DoD) police and base security personnel.
Spouses and dependents will not participate in this exercise, but Jairam states that the beneficiary population will be provided at the upcoming Influenza Vaccination Clinic to be held immediately following at NHB’s Health and Education Center, 2850 Thresher Ave, NBK-Bangor on Nov. 3, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Nov. 4 and 5 from noon until 5 p.m. and Nov. 6 to 8 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“Ships and submarines are exempt from participating in the exercise. Tenant commands not located on an installation are also exempt. Civilian personnel required to receive vaccination during a pandemic event will receive seasonal flu vaccine during this exercise. All other DoD civilians are highly encouraged to participate,” explained Jairam, noting that there has been a massive amount of coordination to execute a real-life exercise across multiple locations.
PANDEMIC-17 will be carried out at designated Points of Dispensation Sites (PODS). NHB will utilize the Bremerton Health and Education Center, Building 2850, on Naval Base Kitsap Bangor as the primary POD. There will be additional PODs on NBK-Bremerton at the Olde Gym, NSE at Branch Health Clinic Everett, Building 2010; NASWI at the Officer’s Club, Building 962; and a mobile team supporting Naval Magazine Indian Island.
“All personnel will be required to have their Command Access Card which will be used to validate eligibility. Active duty personnel will be entered into the Medical Readiness Reporting System database with receiving their flu vaccine to account for vaccination compliance,” Jairam said.
The goal is to have all Navy operational units and MTFs administer the 2017-2018 influenza vaccination to meet the 90 percent vaccination goal by mid-December for active and U.S. Navy Reserve components and Department of the Navy civilians.
“Any pandemic could incapacitate or compromise the readiness status of active duty and civil service personnel. By testing the ability to vaccinate all the shore based personnel who receive medical care from fixed medical treatment facilities, we can exercise and evaluate effective methods to coordinate personnel reporting to PODS, electronic tracking and documentation capabilities, and new technologies to provide up to the minute accountability. The time frame also helps to test coordination and communication between all commends involved,” Lerma said.
“A joint effort is the only way to be successful in any large exercise,” added Jairam. “A pandemic influenza outbreak affects everyone. Having exercises like these empowers us to test our resources, and most importantly, identify areas to improve interagency collaboration.”
| Date Taken: | 10.19.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.19.2017 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 252304 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 437 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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