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Medical staff trains for bioterror
By RYAN DAVIS
© St. Petersburg Times, HUDSON -- Until Saturday, Dr. Lee Watkins would have reacted like most doctors if he saw a patient who had collapsed. "My first thought would be something like a stroke or a heart attack," said Watkins, a retired internist who does quality assurance work at a Clearwater medical facility. Now he would have another thought: Maybe the person was the victim of a sarin gas attack. During a conference Saturday at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, Watkins and about 185 other medical workers spent eight hours learning to recognize and respond to chemical and biological terrorism. "We don't get much training on it in medical school," said Dr. Joseph Staffetti, a gastroenterologist at Bayonet Point. The conference's aim was to get doctors thinking about the chemical and biological threats they could face, organizers said. They touted it as the largest of its kind by a Florida hospital since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The hospital announced the conference early this month. It filled to capacity in two days. Then it announced a second conference for Nov. 10. That one also filled in two days. On Saturday, the medical center's conference room was full of public health workers, nurses, about 50 doctors, paramedics and even Michelle Baker, the county's director of emergency management. These sessions are for medical workers only, but a public event will be held Nov. 17 at the hospital. Dr. Rao Musunuru, the chairman of Bayonet Point's board of trustees and the event organizer, pulled material from the U.S. Army's medical command training program. Between videotapes, the medical workers discussed what they heard. In the morning, they covered bacterial agents, viruses and toxins. In the afternoon, they moved to nerve gases, cyanide and other chemicals. "We chose topics that are right out of the news," said J. Michael Jones, the hospital's director of educational services and infection control. Musunuru said he had two goals. First, to educate the medical workers in attendance. "The sooner you recognize, the sooner you treat," he said. "The sooner you treat, the better the response, the cure." Second, he wanted to make the public aware that medical workers are the first line of defense against chemical and biological warfare. "We are prepared for the unlikely event -- I want to stress the word 'unlikely' -- something happens." He said the day took on a tone unlike any conference he had attended. Doctors weren't leaving early. They weren't getting many pages or mobile phone calls, at least not for a room full of doctors. They were staring at the video screens and taking notes. "They're completely absorbed in it," he said. -- Ryan Davis can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is rdavis@sptimes.com.
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