Courtesy Photo | Maj. Rich Dempsey, a plans officer with III Corps, reviews the layout of the North...... read more read more
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By Heather Graham-Ashley
III Corps and Fort Hood Public Affairs
GATESVILLE, Texas – Fort Hood officials met with civic leaders here Nov. 12 to provide an update about the monitoring area being established at North Fort Hood to house troops returning from West Africa.
The contingent, which included Fort Hood Garrison Commander Col. Matt Elledge, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Commander Col. Patricia Darnauer and Maj. Rich Dempsey, a III Corps plans officer assigned to the project, outlined the process Soldiers returning from West Africa will experience when sent to Fort Hood for monitoring, as well as the safety protocols involved to ensure there is no danger to Soldiers, Families or members of the surrounding communities. They also fielded questions from the community.
“It’s important that we educate Fort Hood and surrounding communities on what we’re doing and how we will protect the Soldiers, Families and the community,” Elledge said.
Soldiers returning from West Africa will initially be monitored for 10 days in Africa before returning to the U.S., where they will then be monitored for an additional 21 days, Elledge said.
Fort Hood is one of five Army installations selected to monitor troops returning from West Africa and is third on the list for priority, behind Fort Bliss and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Dempsey said.
The North Fort Hood facility is scheduled to be at full operational capacity on Friday, ready to provide monitoring and care for up to 100 Soldiers or two cohorts of 50 troops, he added.
Soldiers sent to Fort Hood for monitoring would pose no risk to the surrounding communities. By the time they return stateside, they have already undergone medical checks and monitoring for 10 days, Elledge noted.
“The chances of them having (Ebola) while they are here are very, very slim,” Dempsey said, noting that the Army has taken Centers for Disease Control guidance and multiplied it. “We want to keep our Soldiers, their Families and the local communities safe.”
No personnel that would be considered high-risk for the virus would be sent to Fort Hood.
“They are no- to low-risk personnel,” he said, noting that no-risk personnel would be those like Fort Hood’s 36th Engineer Brigade Soldiers who will be building roads and infrastructure in West Africa, not in contact with the population. Low-risk, he continued, would include those who work in a hospital area but are in protective gear.
Although the risk for infection is low, plans are in place to protect the screening teams that will meet returning Soldiers at Robert Gray Army Airfield and provide the initial monitoring, the cadre that will accompany the Soldiers and any first responders who could provide care to the returning troops.
Any Soldiers with symptoms that require further testing or more acute care would be sent to CRDAMC at Fort Hood. No troops would go to Gatesville for medical care, Dempsey said.
Those sent to Fort Hood for the 21-day observation would not necessary be Fort Hood troops, Elledge said, adding that he hopes they would not be Soldiers with families in the area.
“I wouldn’t want to come back to Fort Hood and not be able to see my Family,” he said.
While at Fort Hood, the Soldiers will be in a 21-day training process that will include a twice-daily medical screen and a medical team on site that is trained to work with Ebola would immediately address any symptoms, Dempsey said.
Although they will not be allowed physical contact with Family members, Soldiers undergoing the monitoring period will have access to wireless Internet, computers, video games and books.
“We’ve done all that we can to make the time on the ground as enjoyable as possible,” he said.
Outgoing Gatesville Mayor David Byrom approved Fort Hood’s plan for the containment and monitoring procedures.
“We appreciate what you’re doing because I do believe and have every confidence that you are minimizing the risk,” Byrom said. “I consider this a very low-risk operation and the right thing to do.”
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2014 16:01 |
| Story ID: | 148169 |
| Location: | GATESVILLE, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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