Greetings,

I recently had the opportunity to attend the National Health Care Coalition Conference, where I was particularly inspired by two speakers. The first, Dr. Kadlec, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), shared that the risks of the 21^st century are increasingly complex and dangerous. He reiterated that as threats evolve, so must the ways that the government and stakeholders work together. I know that preparedness in Minnesota is constantly evolving, but we must never become complacent. I strongly encourage you to read the National Health Security Strategy to increase your awareness of our guiding direction for Health Care Preparedness through 2022.

The second speaker was Admiral Redd, the Assistant Surgeon General at CDC. He spoke to the kinds of health emergencies we now face as a country, specifically three categories of emergencies, the predictable, predictive, and emerging events. He outlined that we have robust plans in place- our framework. We are now focusing on exercising those plans to better understand the strengths and areas for improvement- characterizing the problems and solutions. Lastly, he addressed the need to remain vigilant in executing interventions- execute our plans, and that we must continue to strive for excellence.

What struck me about both speakers was their belief that the preparedness work done at the state and local level is one of the greatest assets available to launch a full community (governmental and non-governmental) preparedness, response and recovery strategy. Let’s continue our efforts and keep up the great work!

In October 2018, MDH-EPR conducted a two day Ebola exercise which included the physical transport of a patient over 300 miles from Madison, WI to the University of Minnesota Medical Center, West Bank by ground transport. Over fifteen agencies participated in the exercise at the local, state, and federal levels, which was planned over the course of five months.

The first day of the exercise, the scenario began as the patient, a University of Wisconsin employee recently back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reported symptoms to their employee health and reported for testing at the local assessment hospital in Madison. This prompted activation of Wisconsin’s state CONOPs (Concept of Operations) for Ebola. When the patient’s lab result was positive for Ebola, Wisconsin activated the HHS Region V plan by notifying MDH-EPR. By the conclusion of day 1 all involved partners were notified of the impending transfer and the logistics of a ground transportation were determined.

Day 2 of the exercise was the physical transport of the patient. Baraboo EMS arrived at the assessment hospital and picked the patient up. Our volunteer stayed in the isopod for the entire journey to Eau Claire, WI where the patient was handed off to Gold Cross EMS. Gold Cross then transported to UMMC. The patient was successfully admitted into the biocontainment unit where staff learned their electronic charting system was experiencing a failure! They successfully used downtime procedures. Another tested feature was a radio patch between the WI and MN radio systems, which worked flawlessly. The exercise was a great success and according to our ASPR colleagues, the first of its kind in the nation.

The 2018 MN HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) MRC Training Camp, held at Camp Ripley, was once again a great success with over 115 participants. The camp is a collaborative effort between the MN HOSA, MDH, MN National Guard, and MN Homeland Security and Emergency Management to provide disaster and crisis response training to youth in grades 7-12 to build awareness and skills to assist themselves, their friends and family, and their community in times of crisis. Youth completed and received certification in First Aid, AED, and CPR, Psychological First Aid, and DRAT! (Disaster Readiness for Teens). They attended trainings on leadership, stress management, and disaster response cycle. The MN National Guard medical unit trained youth in how to perform trauma assessment, control bleeding and apply tourniquets, splint injuries, administer airway management and IV set up, and assist with emergency OB situations. Youth were also able to learn about volunteer opportunities with the National Guard and the Red Cross. On the last day of camp, youth were put into disaster response teams and completed a series of 15 skill set drills to test their new learning. A special thanks goes out to Heather Arndt, Goodhue County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, for facilitating an ICS system exercise, and to Indian Health Services, for their training on how the opioid crisis is impacting Minnesota communities.