ISTARI Exercise-Alaska

Patient Transport in Alaska

Model 1A  | September 2023

A prototype of the ISTARI Transport Model (Model 1A) was evaluated in a field exercise in Alaska in September of 2023. UNMC partnered with Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center (Region 10 RESPTC) to conduct a multi-day event focused on special pathogen and IPC training as well as ISTARI familiarization and simulation. Simulations of an ill patient with a likely highly communicable disease included ground and fixed-wing transport and spanned from Fairbanks, AK to Anchorage, AK and ended in Spokane, WA, the location of the regional referral center for highly communicable disease cases. Additional supporting partners included Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Life Flight Network, LifeMed Alaska, American Medical Response Spokane, Alaska Department of Health, JBER, and Otherlab. The event played a pivotal role in assessing and refining systems, protocols, and partnerships critical to a cohesive and coordinated regional response and provided invaluable feedback to inform future ISTARI design iterations (see related TPP).

Model 1A In Action

Exercise Pictures