Nebraskas Center for Bioterrorism Education, through a partnership
with the Collaborative Training Center at Offutt Air Force Base, is offering
a two-day bioterrorism symposium to provide training for military and civilian
medical care providers in medical management of chemical and biological
casualties.
The two-day course, which has been offered across the United States,
will bring experts from the U.S. Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Disease and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense
to Nebraska for the first time.
The objectives of the symposium, which will take place Friday and Saturday,
August 15-16, at the Omaha Marriott – Regency Parkway, are 1) to share
cutting edge expertise that provides increased awareness and working knowledge
of emergency medical aspects of biological and chemical warfare agents,
and 2) to provide training in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment
of biological and chemical weapons injuries.
The training will include an introduction to Weapons of Mass Destruction
(WMD) and their historical aspects; the uses of biological and chemical
agents as terrorist weapons to produce mass destruction and casualties;
the psychological effects of biological and chemical agents; how to manage
WMD casualties; therapeutic and prophylactic modalities for WMD casualties;
and problem-based learning experiences and panel discussion with experts.
The symposium, sponsored through funding from the Nebraska Department
of Health and Human Services to the Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education,
is being presented in collaboration with the Nebraska Bioterrorism Education
Consortium and is coordinated by the University of Nebraska Medical Center
Rural Health Education Network (RHEN).
Fridays activities will begin at 8 a.m. with registration and
a continental breakfast, followed by a welcome address by Col. Ben Boedeker,
M.D., director of the Collaborative Training Center, and an overview of
the days activities provided by Col. Jonathan Newmark. The schedule is
as follows:
· 8:30-9:30 a.m. – Welcome and Overview
· 9:30-10:30 a.m. – Biological Agents, presented by
Lt. Col. Ross Pastel and Lt. Col. Bridget Carr
· 10:30-11:00 a.m. – Break
· 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – Biological Agents, Lt. Col.
Ross Pastel and Lt. Col. Bridget Carr
· 12:00-1:00 p.m. – Biological Agents, Lt. Col. Ross
Pastel and Lt. Col. Bridget Carr
· 1:00-2:30 p.m. – Luncheon
· 2:30-3:20 p.m. – History of the Medical Aspects of
Chemical Warfare, Lt. Col. Charles Boardman
· 3:20-4:10 p.m. – Pulmonary Agents, Col. Jonathan Newmark
· 4:10-4:30 p.m. – Break
· 4:30-5:20 p.m. – Cyanide, Lt. Col. Charles Boardman
Saturdays schedule is as follows:
· 8:00-8:50 a.m. – Vesicants, Col. Jonathan Newmark
· 8:50-10:05 a.m. – Nerve Agents/Pre-treatment, Col.
Jonathan Newmark
· 10:05-10:25 a.m. – Break
· 10:25-11:25 a.m. – PPE and Chemical Defense Equipment,
Lt. Col. Charles Boardman
· 11:25 a.m.-12:45 p.m. – Luncheon
· 12:45-2:00 p.m. – Field Management, Triage and Decontamination,
Lt. Col. Charles Boardman
· 2:00-3:00 p.m. – Casualty Scenarios, Col. Jonathan
Newmark
· 3:00-3:15 p.m. – Break
· 3:15-4:00 p.m. – Informatics,