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AHEC receives bioterrorism, emergency grant  by Michael Baker Public Relations The South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (SC AHEC) recently learned that it has been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to train the state’s health care workforce to prepare for and respond to bioterrorism incidents and public health emergencies. The project's principal investigator, David Garr, M.D., said the grant funds will be used to deliver educational programs to health care workers in South Carolina so they are ready in case a serious bioterrorist or public health event occurs. He explained that an effective response to a bioterrorist incident depends on "front-line" health care professionals knowing what to do in response to such an emergency.  “Two federal grants have provided funding to train public health workers and hospital personnel in South Carolina in the event of a bioterrorist attack,” he said, “but our program aims to educate the first contact health care workforce. These are the doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, dentists, social workers, emergency medical technicians - those who work in the offices, clinics, pharmacies, on ambulances - in the small towns as well as in large cities throughout the state. The SC AHEC has four regional AHEC centers that serve all 46 South Carolina counties. These centers are located in Greenville, Lancaster, Florence and Hampton. The Program Office is located at MUSC and will be the administrative hub for this project, with many of the university’s faculty members serving as advisors, consultants, and trainers for the program. “We want to draw on the faculty’s expertise to design an appropriate training program for our state's health care professionals,” said Beth Kennedy, the project director for the grant. Discipline-specific workshops will provide a key element for the training program. For example, a doctor might encounter a patient who comes in complaining of the sudden onset of excessive production of saliva. Among the causes of such symptoms can be an exposure to a substance released during a terrorist event, and if the doctor is aware of this fact, an appropriate response can be initiated for that patient and others who might have been similarly exposed. Likewise, workshops will be provided for nurses so they are prepared to recognize unusual symptoms and take the necessary precautions when dealing with possible victims of bioterrorism. The SC AHEC will work closely with the College of Health Professions to design a website to make educational information developed for the program available to health care professionals statewide. According to Kennedy, the website will contain educational materials, online courses, and self-administered tests for interested professionals.  “The Web site will be a great interactive tool because it will provide valuable information to health care workers, some of whom may not be able to attend our workshops,” she said. She added that the website will include links to the websites of MUSC’s colleges and to those of other collaborating institutions. It will also contain information about the faculty members and other personnel involved with the training program. The SC AHEC also plans to employ videoconferencing technology in each of the four AHEC regions and in the program office in Charleston.  Garr explained that videoconferencing equipment will be used, for example, to transmit a live feeds of guest speakers to locations throughout the state, so health care workers in distant locations can benefit from the educational programs. Finally, the SC AHEC plans to schedule emergency drills and “table-top exercises” to assess the preparedness of the health care workers in each region.  In an emergency drill, health professionals confront a simulated catastrophe that requires them to mobilize to a certain area, assess the situation, and take the necessary precautions with regard to safety measures and the care of the victims. A table-top exercise allows health care professionals to walk through an emergency situation. Selected trainees meet to discuss a theoretical incident and outline how they would respond if confronted with such an actual emergency situation.  The emergency drills and the table-top exercises will help the project staff assess the effectiveness of the training program and identify areas that require more emphasis in the future. Although much of the grant focuses on bioterrorism, Garr and Kennedy were quick to point out that the training program has more practical uses, too. Garr stressed that the SC AHEC wants to prepare front-line health care professionals to manage any situation that might arise where public's health is at risk, including situations with mass casualties. “If a natural disaster occurred in Charleston such as a powerful tornado or an earthquake or an accident occurred such as the rail car leakage of a toxic gas, there could be extensive damage and a potentially large number of casualties,” Garr said. “In that situation, people with the appropriate expertise need to be trained to respond in a coordinated fashion, helping as many people as possible while staying out of harm’s way.” The SC AHEC also made a point to include social and mental health professionals in the training program, because the fear of and aftermath of a bioterrorist or public health emergency can be just as devastating as the event itself.  “I think this grant affords people of South Carolina the opportunity to learn more about South Carolina’s Area Health Education Consortium,” Garr said. “The SC AHEC has assisted with the training health care professionals in our state for over 30 years, and this project will permit us to continue this important work.”   Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. 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