Hello, My name is Mireya Martinez. I am a member of the incident command team. I would be open to taking on the safety officer role.

Question 2 What actions are taken?
 
 First action to take is to make sure everyone obtains the adequate refuge/camps and it’s also important to keep families together specially if there are children so as not to aggravate the situation further. We want to make sure that there are enough supplies for everyone who has arrived, and we also need to start thinking about extra supplies for future immigrant caravans that have yet to arrive. Patient assessment need to be done as soon as possible and those requiring immediate care need to be looked after by healthcare professionals. Accommodations and services must be provided for those with disabilities and language barriers. We might also want to start thinking about disease surveillance within the refugee/migrant camps and the need for medicines and other medical supplies.

Question 3: Who is contacted? 

The incident commander should be contacted since they oversee management of incidents and command staff to create a smooth and organized response. It would also be important to contact human services and disaster case management to provide emergency assistance, shelter, and human services since most are likely to be injured and helpless. The authority or government in the area should also be contacted so that the incident is reported to the higher ups and so that there is a flow of communication between incident command and the government. This would also help in providing updates about the situation to the government and from the government.

Question 4: Draw an internal incident commander structure

• After reviewing the chat for our exercise our team leader Griselda Barajas is in charge of our unit. 

 

• We will need a vast diversity of professionals to facilitate a smooth tabletop exercise. Some of these include: nursing professionals, doctors, physicians, 
medical reserve corps, interpreters, team leads, nurse practitioners, social support roles, public health professionals, EMTs, volunteers, and security personnel. 

• Besides the professions listed above, emergency service professionals such as the police, skilled interpreters, volunteers, logistic services, operation services, and safety operators from the ICS would be needed. 

 

• Volunteer services, emergency personnel, USDA forest services, USDA rural development programs, social workers, and human service professionals. 

Other resources?

• Donation services such as food pantry, clothing, basic toiletries, and water would be a priority when considering what is the most important. Also, heating services, mental health professionals, and interpreters would be important. 

·       NM DOH Mass migration plan is activated

·       Staff act in their pre-identified roles 

·       Predetermined command structure should be established with positions identified

·       Staff are trained in pre-identified roles

·       Staff engages in pre-identified communication system (PA, radios, etc)

·       MRC and other volunteers are contacted and should report as soon as possible but not later than 24 hours 

Temporary refuge camps are established 

Disaster assistance may include money for temporary assistance, personal property loss, and other serious disaster-related needs or expenses not covered by insurance or other means.

Draw internal incident command structure.

• (Overview image provided above).

10/12/22 Day 3

As the safety officer, I have contacted and delegated maintenance personnel and janitorial services to assure that the sanitation areas are clean and properly functioning. Additionally, I delegated an assistant to contact a contractor that provides portable bathrooms (porta potty dogs) and sinks. With that being said, this assistant is advised to request additional portable bathrooms (porta potty dogs)/sinks and more maintenance personnel/janitorial services to account for the 100 more refugees that are coming in along with the 500 that the facility currently have. Additionally, personnel have been delegated to identify all personnel coming into the facility with ID bracelets. Also, unaccompanied minors  have identification wristbands with the information that we have. Unaccompanied minors have yellow wrist bands, accompanied minors have green wrist bands, healthy adults have blue wristbands, people with special needs have purple wrist bands,and  patients who need medical attention have white wristbands in addition to their colored bed. People who do not show their wrist band or staff ID will not be allowed into the base and security guards have been contacted and delegated at every entrance port. French and Spanish speaking volunteers have been requested to the American Red Cross and other volunteer organizations. Additionally, an “over the phone” translator company has been contacted and have agreed to help. Biohazard bins/supplies, cleaning stations, PPE, and N-95 masks have been requested to FEMA and other outside resources. I have delegated professional personnel to properly dispose of the biohazard supplies. Lastly, I have requested for more medical professionals to account for the incoming 100 patients and to prevent burnout, near misses, and/or sentinel events. Is there anything else you all would suggest on my part? 

The medical unit will respond to the ICS commander through the proper chain of command. This includes the medical staff reporting to the head of the service branch within the logistics section. The message will then be conveyed to either the Safety Officer, Public information Officer, or the Liaison Officer who will report the information directly to the ICS Commander.

What kind of illnesses or injuries might you expect?
Some expected illnesses and injuries include: 

·        Tuberculosis, HIV, scabies, lice, measles, diphtheria, COVID 19

·        Water born infections (GI - vomiting/diarrhea) and mosquito born infections

·        Acute malnutrition and dehydration

·        Injury and disease (STDs) due to sexual violence

·        Cuts and wounds from debris

·        Infected wounds

·        Orthopedic injury and head injury

·        Hypothermia

·        Mental health issues - long term or situational due to stress and exhaustion
 
What is required to screen the refugees and when does that need to be done?
In the initial first 12 hours: 
·        Vitals

·        Health Hx: dental, vision, medical, and mental health

·        Continue any ongoing medical therapies

·        Screening: COVID, pregnancy, TB

·        Giving patient education

Within the first 14 days:
·        Physical, vision, dental, mental health screening with referrals when needed

·        Follow up assessments for acute/chronic illness

·        Problem focused care
Thank you, Christina Peralta

Initially, people who have not been screened should remain separate from those who have. We will need to make requests for more beds and medical supplies to perform physical assessments.

I think we should consider a scouting mission along the incoming path of the refugees to see how many people we should anticipate within the next few days/weeks. This will help us get a better understanding of the number of supplies that will be needed and reduce the number of requests for supplies. We will also need a pharmacist to help manage the large amount of diverse medications we are likely to administer. We will need infrastructure for medical/biohazard waste. 

We will make all requests for supplies to the Head of the service branch, who will report directly to the chief of the logistics section.---Christina Peralta 

Now we have to determine whether the volunteers and donations are safe enough to enter the refugee camp. 

What actions are taken?

We would start by assigning team members to gather the volunteers and do proper screening to ensure all are safe to help with the refugees. 

Adding on to what everyone else already said: This may include security checks, vital checks (e.g. temperature), and checking for age since it may be a liability issue for smaller children to volunteer. 

For food donations, we should also do a safety check for sanitation and expiration dates. We would only accept non perishable foods that have been unopened; no home cooked foods should be allowed unless it’s coming from a reputable place to prevent contamination. It’s important to know what ingredients are in each food item and where it is sourced to prevent allergies and food poisoning. 

For other donation items like clothing, blankets, electronics, etc., they should also be checked for contamination and organized based on where it will be delivered. For example, clothing and blankets can go to the refugees, while medical supplies can go to the medical team for inspection.

Who is contacted?

We should contact the Planning and Logistics team to make a record of the available inventory and notify everyone or the additional supplies available. We would also contact the medical tent and people from our own tent to inspect the volunteers and determine who is eligible to help. 

- Miley Nguyen