Naval Hospital Beaufort Tests Hurricane Preparedness Plans

BEAUFORT, S.C. (NNS) -- Naval Hospital Beaufort's emergency management personnel wrapped up a 12-day Navy-wide hurricane preparedness exercise May 23 that tested the installation's disaster response plans in advance of the 2013 hurricane season.

"This exercise, known as HURREX/CITADEL GALE 13, allowed Naval Hospital Beaufort to test our capabilities for responding to a hurricane strike and ensuring that our personnel and their families are safe and accounted for should the worst happen," said Capt. Joan Queen, the commanding officer of both the naval hospital and Naval Support Facility Beaufort.

During the exercise, personnel from the naval hospital and support facility simulated different conditions of readiness and provided staff with destructive weather plans to guide them as one of the exercise storms, Hurricane Kirk, approached the South Carolina coast.

"Beginning June 1, we officially enter hurricane season here in the Lowcountry, so this exercise is timely in making sure we're prepared for possible real-world events," said Ronald Marcell, the hospital's emergency management and security officer. "By testing our plans and capabilities, by sharing best practices with other Navy installations, we increase our readiness by learning where our strengths lie and where we need to make adjustments so that when a natural disaster such as a hurricane hits Beaufort, we can mobilize and prevent loss of life and property."

Three simulated hurricanes were part of the training exercise, and although Beaufort was only impacted by one, the rest struck different areas along the East Coast. Because of this, Naval Hospital Beaufort and Naval Support Facility Beaufort were ordered to account for all potentially affected family members of personnel who live in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states using the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS).

The system provides a way for the Navy to account, assess, manage, and monitor the recovery process for personnel and their families who are affected by a catastrophic event. This allows for commanders to account for their people and all personnel are required to update their information annually.

"Making sure that we know where our people are, that assistance is provided when it is needed, and knowing that our loved ones are safe, contributes to mission and family readiness," said Queen. "It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to focus on the mission at hand if you don't know whether or not your family is safe. The Navy is committed to keeping our personnel and their families safe and secure during natural and man-made disasters and NFAAS allows me, as a commander, to uphold that commitment and provide peace of mind to my staff so that we can focus on our mission."

During the exercise, Marcell liaised with emergency management personnel from other installations across Navy Medicine East (NME) and Commander, Navy Region Southeast (CNRSE) using cutting-edge technology.

"We were able to communicate with other installations using centralized communication portals that allow personnel to share a common operational picture, submit reports, receive weather updates from Fleet Weather Center Norfolk, and generally ensure our status was clearly communicated up the chain of command," said Marcell.

According to Marcell, the collaborative nature of the training exercise meant that the installations involved were able to share best practices, which expanded collective knowledge for successfully managing destructive weather events. At Naval Hospital Beaufort, one of the shared best practices included actions taken by the Tricare Service Center to ensure beneficiaries were able to get medications refilled by the pharmacy in advance of the storm or get waivers to be seen by network providers.

"This was definitely a great learning opportunity," said Marcell. "The more we train collaboratively for disasters, the better we can share ideas to coordinate response and recovery efforts during and after an actual disaster. Being ready before disaster strikes is key to having the best possible outcome."

Open since 1949, Naval Hospital Beaufort provides general medical, surgical, and emergency services to all active duty personnel, as well as retired military and family members residing in the Beaufort area, a total population of approximately 29,000 beneficiaries.

For more news from Naval Hospital Beaufort, visit www.navy.mil/local/nhbeaufort/.