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Telehealth Technologies and Applications for Terrorism Response: A Report of the 2002 Coastal North Carolina Domestic Preparedness Training Exercise

Affiliations of the authors: The Telemedicine Center, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina (SCS, TAM, AB, FTW); Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville, North Carolina (DAR); Ideations, LLC, Greenville, North Carolina (MC).

Correspondence and reprints: Scott C. Simmons, MS, ECU Telemedicine Center, 600 Moye Boulevard, 1S-10, Greenville, NC 27858; e-mail: <simmonss{at}mail.ecu.edu>.

Effective response to natural or man-made disasters (i.e., terrorism) is predicated on the ability to communicate among the many organizations involved. Disaster response exercises enable disaster planners and responders to test procedures and technologies and incorporate the lessons learned from past disasters or exercises. On May 31 and June 1, 2002, one such exercise event took place at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. During the exercise, East Carolina University tested: (1) in-place Telehealth networks and (2) rapidly deployable communications, networking, and data collection technologies such as satellite communications, local wireless networking, on-scene video, and clinical and environmental data acquisition and telemetry. Exercise participants included local, county, state, and military emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management, specialized response units, and local fire and police units. The technologies and operations concepts tested at the exercise and recommendations for using telehealth to improve disaster response are described.