The Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education, a service of UNMC, Creighton University, and Nebraska Health and Human Services, is producing an educational docudrama about bio-terrorism.
The film will dramatize a Boy Scout troop’s exposure to stolen anhydrous ammonia. It also will provide direct and indirect instruction for emergency and medical personnel regarding all phases of response and treatment including first aid, emergency response, triage, decontamination and hospitalization.
“We are tremendously excited about producing this film,” said Barbara Dodge, Hospital Preparedness Coordinator for the Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education. “We searched all over for video-based education on triage and decontamination of groups of children and found none. This film will meet an important need in the medical community. Our goal is to provide first responders and hospital emergency department personnel with practical and timely information on how to triage, decontaminate and treat chemically burned kids.”
The film – two videos of 15-20 minutes each — will be distributed to the nearly 90 hospitals in the state and to as many rescue services as possible, Dodge said. The video should be completed by the end of the year.
Filming will take place later this month at Camp Cedars, a few miles south of Fremont off Highway 109, as well as at two healthcare facilities. Filming at the Fremont Area Medical Center will depict a hospital’s set-up and utilization of its outdoor decontamination tents in the case of a chemical or bio-terrorist attack. Filming also will take place at the St. Elizabeth’s Burn Center in Lincoln.
UNMC pediatrician Jose Romero, M.D., and Chet Paul, M.D., of the St. Elizabeth Burn Center are consultants on the project.
Artisan Creed began pre-production for the film in July following initial conceptual meetings with the Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education. The film is being developed to meet the educational needs of medical providers as recommended by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Funding for the project was provided by HRSA, the CDC and the Office of Domestic Preparedness.
Philip Weitl of Artisan Creed wrote the film’s screenplay, following broad conceptual consultation with the Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education. H. Corkey Ford of Artisan Creed is directing the film and coordinating all aspects of production.