Federal Medical Stations Prepared to Open in Bismarck and Jamestown

Contact:
Gloria David
Public Information Officer
Phone: 701.220.2470
E-mail: gdavid@nd.gov

Federal Medical Stations Prepared to Open in Bismarck and Jamestown

Bismarck, N.D.  – Bismarck Burleigh Public Health, along with the North Dakota Department of Health and other medical response agencies have been working with the University of Mary to prepare for the possible opening of a Federal Medical Station (FMS) on the campus of the University of Mary.

The FMS is an asset requested from the US Department of Health and Human Services by the North Dakota Department of Health. “At this time, key agencies in Bismarck are preparing the facility to take in patients with medical needs that have been evacuated from Fargo due to flooding” said Paula Flanders, Administrator, Bismarck Burleigh Public Health. The site is preparing to become operational sometime late Sunday afternoon, March 29th.

The University of Mary in Bismarck is being set up as a FMS site and will be receiving patients with more acute needs while a facility in Jamestown will receive less acute patients.  Bismarck Burleigh Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response staff is on standby to provide support services to the FMS at the University of Mary.

The FMS contains a three-day supply of medical and pharmaceutical resources to sustain 250 stable primary care-based patients who require bedding services. A team of approximately 100 personnel, provided primarily by the U.S. Public Health Service, is needed to staff the FMS. The sites will receive supplemental staff from volunteer medical personnel across North Dakota.

Media Note: See attached document for more information about Federal Medical Stations.

Federal Medical Station (from www.hhs.gov)
The FMS is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployable healthcare platform that can deliver large-scale primary healthcare services anywhere in the U.S. A team of approximately 100 personnel is needed to staff the FMS, with personnel provided primarily by the U.S. Public Health Service. Each FMS contains a three-day supply of medical and pharmaceutical resources to sustain 250 stable primary care-based patients who require bedding services. Additional roles for the FMS may include the following:
•  Mass ambulatory vaccination services (using vaccination inventory from the Strategic National Stockpile)
•  Ambulatory prophylactic medication administration (using medication inventory from the Strategic National Stockpile)
•  Pre-hospital triage and initial stabilization for up to 250 patients

The FMS must be housed inside a structurally intact building that has roughly 40,000 square feet of space, a 10-person set up team, electricity, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and clean water services. Reduced bed requirements can be accommodated in smaller facilities. Other operational requirements include bathroom and showering facilities, housing for staff, and contracted support for food, potable water, laundry, ice, medical oxygen filling, and biomedical waste disposal. The FMS requires 48-96 hours from the time of request to delivery inside the continental U.S. and a 12-hour assembly time.

For more information about the Federal Medical Stations in North Dakota, please contact Loreeta Canton or Stacy Eberl at 701.328.1312.