ISTARI Exercise-Quilcene

Patient Transport in Quilcene, Washington

Model 1A | Quilcene, WA | Sept. 2022

An ISTARI Model 1A prototype was evaluated in a field exercise on the Olympic Peninsula in 2022. UNMC partnered with East Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services, Airlift Northwest, University of Washington, and Otherlab to simulate helicopter and ground ambulance transport of a patient with a suspected high-consequence infectious disease using the ISTARI tent. Teams of local EMS providers performed a full spectrum of medical interventions appropriate for transport care during this dynamic field exercise, assessing safety and utility for clinical care, infection prevention and control, and transport operations (see related TPP). The ISTARI tent was compared to conventional isolation care practices for ground ambulance transport. Additionally, the ISTARI tent was evaluated against other portable isolation devices. The ISTARI tent was successfully employed during air and ground transport simulations and performed favorably across evaluation domains. 

Exercise Pictures