Med Group establishes functional In-Place Patient Decontamination Unit

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Geoff Buteau
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  The 66th Medical Group recently stood up a functional In-Place Patient Decontamination Unit here that is responsible for decontaminating personnel affected by a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) weapons attack before they enter the clinic for further care.

A 20 -person decontamination team, lead by Capt. Michael Doiron, 66th Medical Operations Squadron, tested their response capabilities with a new TVI water heater during a training session here April 4.

In the event that a CBRNE attack occurs, the team, made up of about 15 to 20 Airmen, is required to setup a water heater, a tent and a hazardous material containment bladder to respond to affected personnel, Capt. Doiron said.

The team then decontaminates patients prior to bringing them into the medical facility in order to prevent contamination of health care providers or the medical treatment facility. The team, Capt. Doiron said, also simultaneously treats life threatening injuries and stabilizes patients for transport and treatment.

Prior to receiving the new water heater March 21, the clinic did not have a functional decontamination unit in place. The clinic had a heater on hand, but it was damaged before it arrived at Hanscom, the captain said.

Although the base Fire Department has the capability to provide "on-the-spot" decontamination, the 66 MDG team was ready to replace the heater and become a functional team in the event that the Fire Department was unable to provide support due to on-scene hazmat responsibilities.

"During a recent Base Readiness Exercise in February, we realized that the existing water heater was unserviceable. We immediately started the process for acquiring a new heater," the captain said.

Now that the team has received the heater and begun training, Col. Jackson Dobbins, 66 MDG commander, said the clinic is "100 percent patient-decon capable," which is not only important for the base, but a "first for Hanscom."

Captain Doiron, who was a member of the war-time decontamination team at Langley and has been doing decontamination work for eight years, said that the new heater is more user-friendly.

Since the new equipment has arrived, Capt. Doiron said the team enjoys the challenge of participating in decontamination scenarios and standing up the new "high-speed decontamination facility."

The TVI water heater, which also has a soap source, is hooked up to a fire hydrant or other water source. The machine operates by accepting the water from the water source and then relaying both the heated water and the soap to three lanes within the tent, the captain said.

One lane functions as an assembly-line setup - transporting patients who are severely wounded down the line on a litter with wheels. In this lane, the captain said, decontamination personnel will cut patients' clothes off, wash them with soapy, warm water, then rinse them off and place them in blankets before they are carried into the clinic.

"The tent's other two lanes are for victims, who can still walk, to wash and rinse themselves," he said.

The new set-up also takes into account the fact that the chemicals rinsed off of patients can provide evidence and insight into an attack.

"Once everyone is decontaminated, all contaminant is flushed -- using pumps attached to the tent -- from the floor to the hazardous chemical containment bladder. The contaminant is used as evidence in investigations by other law enforcement and security agencies to examine the cause, reasons and nature of the attacks," Captain Doiron said. 

The decontamination procedures aren't the only area that the team has readied themselves for, however.

While training for the decontamination setup and procedures, the team has also prepared for the weather. "It's never been a nice day -- snow, freezing rain, 20-below wind chill - it's good though, because we live in New England and we have to be able to setup in any condition, and we're trained for that ... we have a good team over here," the captain said.

The 66 MDG's In-Place Patient Decontamination Unit will put their team training to the test during an upcoming BRE in May where they will setup and operate the new water heater during different deployment scenarios.

(2nd Lt. C. Michaela Judge contributed to this article.)