Delivery unit has record-breaking baby boom - Military Medical | News

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Page 6 • December 2011 • Military Medical News www.militarymedical.com Rising Above the Flood: The Mission of AFRIMS By Jeffrey Soares, USAMRMC Public Affairs Bangkok, Thailand, is partially flooded, and the city is reeling with anxiety. It hasn’t happened in nearly half a century, ut it isn’t very surprising considering that the past ear’s weather pattern has given the world earthuakes, typhoons, tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme eat, frigid cold, and monsoon-like rain -- yes, lots nd lots of rain -- in record numbers. The Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical ciences located in downtown Bangkok carries on, usiness as usual, despite the fact that practically all taff members face possible flooding in their homes. As a Special Foreign Activity subordinate comand of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, nd ultimately the U.S. Army Medical Research and ateriel Command, AFRIMS plays a critical role n helping to protect both warfighters and civilians gainst potentially deadly diseases including malaria, apanese encephalitis, dengue, bacterial diarrhea, and IV. “All research and our mission continues,” said Col. obert Bowden, commander of AFRIMS. “We have een educating our staff to be very careful and set ood examples for the community members by being lert and aware of waterborne diseases -- such as eptospirosis, Cholera, and Hepatitis A -- and to use recautions as much as possible.” Although wading through water about 1.5 meters eep may seem like a trivial task to most, it becomes uite significant when the painstaking work of many cientists and military personnel is threatened with estruction. AFRIMS maintains three large warehouse spaces in he Rangsit province, just north of Bangkok, and one f these spaces has 100 freezers that hold nearly 1 milion research samples. If the waters were to reach the reezers and shut down the cooling system, the efforts f hundreds of studies would simply be washed away y the flood. But the commander and his team refuse to let this appen. “Several teams of scientists and technicians from ach department along with their Royal Thai Army olleagues collectively moved all of the research amples to ‘boxcar’-like freezers that have been tationed in front of the AFRIMS VetMed complex, hich is about 20 kilometers [12.5 miles] from the riginal location in Rangsit,” said Bowden. “Elevated y 3 meters, these freezers are operational, on back p with generator power, and have dry ice stored on ight if one fails and immediate transfer is required to (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jessica L. Tounzen/Released) PA program Right: Officer Candidate Ian Crow, a Physician Assistant (PA) student in Naval Medical Center San Diego’s (NMCSD) PA Program, examines Officer Candidate Douglas Forsyth’s mouth for practice in NMCSD’s Otolaryngology clinic. NMCSD offers 15 specialty clinics that PA students rotate through during the program. NMCSD’s Physician Assistant program educates, trains and develops Physician Assistants for the fleet, promoting the mission readiness of service members. another unit.” Bowden holds the members of his staff in very high regard, with good reason. “Maj. Paul Watkins, Chief of Logistics, Sgt. 1st Class Corey Powell, non-commissioned officer in charge of logistics and motor pool NCOIC, and Staff Sgt. Jeffery McDonald, NCOIC of medical maintenance were key in providing the leadership and establishing the resources for the AFRIMS rescue efforts,” said the commander. “Capt. Trent Peacock, a newly arrived Medical Service Corps microbiologist in the Department of Enteric Diseases, along with a team of medical maintenance technical specialists and volunteers from each department are to be most credited with the brick walls, tarps, and ingenuity that led to the protection of the entire freezer farm from flood waters no more than a half-inch deep inside the farm. Their proactive efforts allowed for no loss in property, no loss of electricity and, above all, no injuries.” As perhaps an affront to the existing threat, the entire AFRIMS staff is pressing forward to ensure that neither current nor future work will be affected. As Bowden said, “We continue to conduct our Phase III clinical trial in Northern Thailand, as well as all other IRB [Institutional Review Board] and IACUC [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] protocols. We continue to write proposals to MIDRP [Military Infectious Disease Research Program], GEIS [Global Emerging Infections Surveillance] and all other agencies. And all staff continues to perform temporary duty and other functions to conduct ongoing or future protocols.” “In conjunction with III Marine Expeditionary Force medical augmentation team, 5th Preventive Medicine Unit from the Eighth U.S. Army, Korea and the Royal Thai Army, Navy and Air Force, AFRIMS is supporting the flood recovery effort with subject matter expertise in dengue, malaria, insect (vector) control and assessment, diarrheal disease , respiratory illness, and veterinary services (human-animal disease interface). The III MEF Medical Team and AFRIMS met with the Royal Thai Army Medical Department Surgeon General and his staff, and together they have proposed a plan to join the Royal Thai Army military medical teams that attend patients affected by the flood currently residing at any one of six of the Royal Thai Army military evacuation shelters. This plan will include AFRIMS staff and III MEF medical forces as the mission requires. AFRIMS has suggested and facilitated a meeting of the III MEF medical team and the Royal Thai Navy Surgeon General and Royal Thai Air Force Medical leadership to discuss needs and a plan-ahead strategy for infectious disease prevention and surveillance.” All this seems rather impressive, but it doesn’t end here. Bowden says that AFRIMS currently is poised in support of other likely disease outbreaks that may occur subsequent to the flood waters receding in the Bangkok region. There are also reports of diarrheal disease in Nonthaburi, an area northwest of Bangkok. Nevertheless, the AFRIMS team is ready to help the surrounding Thai community with whatever is necessary, primarily because of the “fantastic” bond between the two. “We have a strong relationship with our Thai hosts and colleagues … [and] we stand ready with clinicians and laboratory support staff to help them,” said Bowden. “We would not abandon them in search of ‘higher ground.’” Celebrating its 50th anniversary, AFRIMS is the successful result of a collaboration involving the United States and Thailand governments to create a joint medical research laboratory in Thailand, initially formed to combat the spread of cholera throughout the country. Today, AFRIMS works to create vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics for tropical infectious diseases that affect millions of people each year. Without the efforts of this focused group of partnering individuals, the lives of many thousands around the world could be lost annually. The partnership is so strong, in fact, it dictates how the AFRIMS team takes care of its host community. “If it floods here [inside the campus], we’ll clean it up and make it shine. We’ll mitigate against mold or other issues that arise from long-term stagnant water collection. We’ll refurbish what may be damaged,” said Bowden. “We stand with our colleagues to assist.” While the damage to the AFRIMS facility is minimal at this point, the commander notes that a few items are still needed in anticipation of the recovery effort that lies ahead. These include 15 portable pressure washers, 50 mattresses for affected staff who are currently staying at AFRIMS, and sheets, towels, and blankets for these displaced staff members. Although the current outlook is positive, with electricity flowing, hospitals functioning, and no widespread disease, the AFRIMS team still must anticipate a worst-case scenario, and all plans are in place to mitigate extensive damage and illness in this unlikely event. Despite this, it’s probably safe to say that Bowden and his AFRIMS colleagues won’t let a little water get the best of them. Or even a lot of water. It hasn’t in 50 years.
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Delivery unit has record-breaking baby boom - Military Medical | News

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