Include EMS in Biodefense Plans, NAEMT Letter Urges

This article is reprinted with permission from NAEMT News.

The nation’s biodefense strategy should place greater emphasis on the threat from emerging infections than bioterrorism, and the EMS perspective must be included in any policy changes or recommendations made to Congress, urged a letter from NAEMT to a blue-ribbon panel on biodefense.

In late 2014, a bipartisan panel of experts came together to study U.S. readiness to respond to bioterrorism or naturally occurring outbreaks of infectious disease. Cochaired by former Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT) and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense will recommend changes to U.S. policy and law to strengthen national biodefense, including preventing, preparing for, detecting and responding to biological and large-scale chemical incidents.

To ensure that EMS is considered and included as part of any recommendations, NAEMT submitted a letter to the panel reminding members about the essential role of EMS in our nation’s response to pandemic outbreaks and biological disaster.

“EMS has taken the lead, as the primary medical responders, to a variety of scenarios in the past decade including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and most recently, Ebola,” according to the letter.

Letter Cautions: Don’t Neglect Risks From Emerging Infectious Disease

The letter also raised concerns that the panel had not engaged the EMS community in its discussions, which have included four face-to-face meetings. The letter also questioned the panel’s focus on bioterrorism, rather than naturally occurring infections, which are both more likely to occur and have the potential to sicken or kill many people.

“While we continue to respond to ‘white powder’ incidents,” the report noted, referring to the anthrax/ricin scares, “these are more of a sporadic nuisance than actual threat … the most pressing ‘biological’ threats continue to be emerging infectious disease. EMS practitioners respond daily to the biological events of infectious disease from minor to lethal airborne and body fluid-borne pathogens. These essential medical first responders represent the highest at-risk, and will bear the bulk of responsibility during biological events.”

The letter to the panel was the first activity undertaken by NAEMT’s new EMS Preparedness Committee, which began meeting in February to advise the NAEMT Board on ways to strengthen the role of EMS in our nation’s emergency preparedness strategy and response activities. The committee is chaired by Fergus Laughridge, a captain at Humboldt General Hospital EMS in Winnemucca, NV. The committee’s membership is comprised of several leaders in national and EMS preparedness, including Alex Garza, MD, who previously served as chief medical officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Carol Cunningham, MD, Ohio’s state medical director and a member of DHS’s First Responder Resource Group.

The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense is cosponsored by the Hudson Institute and the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, both Washington, D.C.-based think tanks. The panel is expected to produce a report this fall.

To read the letter, visit www.naemt.org/WhatsNewALLNEWS/2015/04/21/naemt-provides-comment-to-blue-ribbon-panel-on-biodefense.

Jenifer Goodwin is communication projects manager for NAEMT. She previously served as associate editor of the monthly newsletter Best Practices in Emergency Services.