JUNE  16, 2005 | The threat of terrorism isn’t limited to big cities, which is why the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has already put together a plan to address any disaster, natural or manmade.

Attacks by terrorists on citizens, facilities and resources within the continental United States are an ever present danger,” said Aubrey Hough Jr., M.D., associate dean for translational research and special projects in the UAMS College of Medicine and chairman of the UAMS Bioterrorism Steering Committee.

Hough said these attacks could come in the form of explosives, infectious diseases, organisms that create toxins, chemical releases or radiological releases.

“Although Arkansas may seem remote from sites of recent terror in New York, Washington D.C. and nearby areas, we are equally vulnerable, as are other areas of the homeland,” he said. “The chief objective of the terrorist is to spread fear and create economic damage.”

Hough said that at least eight countries in the world areknown to have developed biological agents that could be used for terrorism, and terrorist groups are actively seeking these agents. “Bioterrorism is a very real threat,” Hough said. “It hasn’t been invented just to scare people or attract funds.”

While many people might discount Arkansas as a location for terrorism, Hough said there are locations in the state that could be very attractive to a terrorist. The state has a nuclear power plant, a chemical weapons storage facility, numerous railroad bridges and trestles and ocean-bound river traffic on the Mississippi, Ouachita, White and Arkansas rivers. Commercial trucks haul toxic chemicals throughout the state. Furthermore, he said, the state has a number of large arenas that could be targets of a terror attack.

As the state’s only academic medical center, UAMS is preparing to meet the challenge of planning for a terrorist event and is assisting other organizations in the state and region in their efforts. UAMS faculty and staff are active in basic and applied research involving bioterrorism and have been successful in obtaining federally funded grants for study of the potential intentional use of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Avian influenza, tularemia and other agents.

UAMS has obtained grants for statewide continuing education in coordination with its Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) to provide instruction on terrorism to health and emergency response professionals throughout the state. UAMS is also retooling its undergraduate curriculum to include more teaching on bioterrorism, disaster preparedness and infectious diseases using an additional federal grant.

Hough said UAMS has collaborated with Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and Arkansas Children’s Hospital to address the possibility of bioterrorism in the state. UAMS is one of 13 hospitals in Arkansas that have agreed to provide all necessary support to natural or manmade disasters as Tier 1 hospitals.

To address the needs of the campus, UAMS has formed a leadership group to prepare UAMS Medical Center and various campus support centers to respond to disasters – natural or manmade. The group includes representatives from all colleges, AHECs, University Hospital and the central campus administration.

Changes on campus include restructuring the bio-defense and hospital emergency preparedness committees for better coordination and involvement in joint activities, creating specialized disaster teams and stockpiling supplies and equipment. UAMS also is preparing and training for the decontamination, stabilization and treatment of mass casualties.

Hough said a great benefit to using UAMS as the lead hospital in disasters is that it has a single administrative structure and all employees are under the University of Arkansas system. He said that in private hospitals, doctors and many other professionals are under contract and may not be as willing to act as a team member during a disaster.

“We have considerable experience in getting ready for disasters, he said.”

In addition, UAMS is developing partnerships with other major health care centers in the country to develop a prototype facility designed to handle a bioterrorism threat.

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